Illusions and Fantasies
by dasame
Summary: This story is complete I'll be posting five chapters at a time until its all posted. I'm a babe and this is a babe story, not kind to Joe or Ellen. If you're a cupcake I recommend that you not read this story you won't like it.
1. Chapter 1

**Warnings: Big ass Joe warning. If you care for Joe at all DO. NOT. READ. THIS. I can guarantee you won't like it.**

**That being said this is an adult fic and deals with adults therefore if you're not 18 you should back click now.**

**Illusions and Fantasies**

Chapter One

Steph reached from under the covers fumbling as she reached for the phone. When it fell to the floor she pulled her head out from under the covers. She glanced at the clock and groaned. Someone had better be dead or she was going to get her gun from the cookie jar and shot them. She'd done a surveillance shift with Ranger and only been in bed an hour.

"What? Do you freaking know its 3a.m." She shouted into the phone. For a long minute there was no answer and she almost fell back asleep.

Then she heard Joe's unmistakable voice on the phone it was low and stressed. "Stephanie, do exactly what I say. I'm in no fucking mood so don't try to pull any bullshit. I just came from a crime scene involving a dead child. Do exactly what I say or I'll hurt Angie."

What the fuck. Suddenly very awake Stephanie sat up. This had to be a bad dream, a joke. She looked around for cameras. Then she went with pissed. How dare Joe threaten Angie or anyone she cared for?

"Joe, I'm sure there's a logical explanation for the most asinine statement you've ever made, but it eludes me right now."

Joe growled his reply. "Listen, CUPCAKE, if you want to see your brat of a niece alive again. You'll do just as I say. Do you understand or should I repeat myself slower."

Stephanie tried to think. I mean he had to be joking, right. He wouldn't really hurt Angie. For God's sake he was a cop. What could have happened that would be bad enough for Joe to threaten to do something as awful as hurting a child. Especially one of my nieces, he knew Angie had a crush on him.

"Don't ever mistake me for a good guy, Stephanie. You'll only end up surprised and disappointed."

"Joe you're a cop…"

"Yeah well see that's where you are mistaken. I'm all about smoke and mirror Cupcake, you know Illusions and Fantasies, I let people see what they want to see, cops are good guys right, so I give them the good cop 'Fantasy' when they need it. But make no mistake it's all an 'Illusion' in the Burg people see what they want to see".

"Joe, you hurt Angie and I will kill you myself" Steph said.

"No you won't CUPCAKE, you might have Manoso do it but you won't; we have a history and besides, you don't have the balls to kill me".

"So you think I'm part of your fantasy Joe. You have me all figured out?" Steph inquired.

"Stop wasting time Cupcake". Tell you what _babe. You do exactly what I say or I'll introduce Angie to Choo-Choo, the difference is I'm not eight anymore Steph. DO YOU GET IT CUP-CAKE"._

"Now here is the deal. Angie is safe for now, but you are going to pack a bag and we are going to fly to Vegas and you are going to marry me. Angie could be your bridesmaids or maid of honor or whatever the hell you silly women do when you get married. You be ready in an hour and come to the house and we will leave I have us booked on a flight leaving from New York in three hours, don't be late. If you are late or bring in Manoso...well let's just say Angie will be in therapy for years to come. You may not do butt stuff but I'm sure Angie will. One hour Cupcake...one hour, oh Cupcake, bring a nice dress and shoes, we do want good pictures to show the family and kiddies years from now don't we". Joe taunted before hanging up the phone.

Steph sat frozen her hand gripping the phone. It's a dream, it's a dream. I need to wake up. Yeah that's it I need to wake up. Stephanie's hands on their own accord hit speed dial one. "Yo" Ranger voice was heard in the air. Steph looked at the phone in surprised as Ranger repeated "Babe". Steph did the only thing she could do "I need you now, Joe has Angie and is threatening her, I need you Ranger, hurry". The phone dropped from Steph's arms and she barely heard Ranger said _"Be there in five Babe"._

Thirty minutes later after Ranger and the Core Team had heard what Steph related, Ranger had a plan. Tank was not surprised. Ranger's connections were wide, especially in Vegas. Ranger was a silent partner in several hotels in Vegas, he already knew Morelli's flight number and what hotel he was checked into - the Tropicana, figures Morelli is nothing if not consistent, he was a tight wad, showing a girl a good time at the Tropicana would be considered a good time to the cop. Ranger was way ahead of him, he had his people working on thwarting all of Morelli's plans especially if he plans to marry at said Tropicana Hotel. Just in case, however; he made sure to he got in touch with his people at the Registrar's Office to make sure that the Marriage Certificate of one Joseph Morelli and Stephanie Plum would never be recorded, just in case, Ranger knew that the wedding would never take place. The Cop will be dead before that happens, especially if he touched a hair on little Angie's head.

Ranger was hoping that Steph could hold her own with Morelli especially with Angie being there. If he figured the cop right he wanted to marry Steph not hurt Angie, she was just the tool he was willing to use, there was no doubt that Morelli would take advantage of the little girl if Stephanie resisted him. Steph left five minutes ago after being briefed by Ranger. Hector had all kinds of high tech bugs that Morelli would never find. The most sophisticated ones were sewn into her "so called" wedding dress and planted in the lining of her shoes...the devices was as thin as thread, they were so high tech they will easily pass the most sophisticated scanners at the airport, it would not be discovered in the luggage, nor will the tracker that Bobby planted over a year ago at the base of Steph's scalp. Morelli was in for a serious wake up call. He had crossed the line when he threatened an innocent child.

**Illusions and Fantasies**

Chapter Two

Steph looked at the house. Her 'spidey sense' was going crazy. Something was wrong. Joe had said to meet him at his house in an hour and that had been nearly fifty minutes ago. But the house was dark, even though Joe's truck was parked out front. It simply appeared that Joe was sleeping.

Why would he call and threaten her, demand that she come in an hour or less, and then go to sleep as if nothing was up? Plus, he'd said they were booked on a flight out of New York. He should have been ready to leave.

Stepping from her current POS, she looked both ways down the street. Nothing seemed out of place. The neighbors cars were all parked in their driveways, lights were off everywhere in the neighborhood. All was quiet, yet the hairs on her arm rose; a tingle ran down her back. She walked slowly to Joe's truck and placed her hand on the hood. Still warm. Shit.

At the door, she stopped. Use the key or knock. The hell with it, key it would be. After all, Joe had called her, dammit. He'd woken her up before the damn sun was even up and threatened not only her, but her niece.

The door swung open, revealing a dark interior. She turned on the nearest switch and made her way slowly and carefully into the house. It was quiet, too quiet. Her palms were sweating and everything in her was yelling for her to run. Stephanie wasn't one to back away and run when things got too scary, though. She always ran head on into danger, especially when it involved someone she cared about.

Then she heard a creak as the loose step on the stairway leading from upstairs groaned. Was it only last week that Joe had told her he needed to fix that? He had woken her when he stepped on it after returning from a middle of the night call.

She sucked in her breath when she looked up to see Joe had his work piece trained on her. He looked disheveled, as if he'd crawled out of bed after not being in it long enough.

She could hear the surprise in his voice at seeing her in his living room in the middle of the night. "Cupcake? What are you doing here, Steph?"

She tracked his eyes as they went from her to the door, which she had left open.

Joe breezed down the steps, past Steph, and slammed the door.

"Shit, Steph, when are you going to learn? I'm a cop. Never leave a door open. You don't know who might see it as an invitation."

His hands came to rest on his hips as he appraised her.

"What's up, Stephanie? Another nut case after you? You look like hell. Did you even look at those clothes before you put them on?"

"You called me. You threatened Angie."

Joe held up a hand. "What are you playing at, Cupcake? I was at a crime scene until an hour ago, then I came home and fell into bed. We haven't talked since you slapped me and called me a pig last week."

Steph looked around. Joe appeared to be telling the truth. Had she just dreamed everything? Had she gotten Ranger and the guys up and ready for nothing? No, it had been a nightmare. What the hell was going on?

Joe took her hand and started pulling her up the stairs. She froze as terror grabbed her. This was wrong.

When she didn't move, Joe turned and looked at her. She was shaking, pale, and obviously afraid.

"Cupcake, what's wrong?" He started to rub his hands down her arms and stopped when she stiffened at his touch. He dropped his hands. He slowly backed away, studying her. "I don't know what's going on, Stephanie, but I never thought you'd be afraid of me."

Steph's 'Burg girl attitude rose to the surface. "I'm not afraid."

"Steph, you shaking, you're pale, and it looks like you're about to hyperventilate. You're breathing so fast. We need to get you in bed. After a good night's sleep, we can talk in the morning and get everything cleared up."

The last thing she heard before everything went black was Joe's voice. "Cupcake, **how can I love you when you don't even care**? But I do, and someday you'll understand."

The Next Morning

Steph looked around. Stretching, she thought, _this not my bed_. She was in Joe's spare bedroom. Then she attempted to sit up fast. Her stomach twisted and she fought the urge to vomit.

Why couldn't she remember how she got here? She closed her eyes and concentrated. Joe, leading her up the stairs. A sudden prick, then blackness. Shit, had she been drugged?

She threw her feet over the side of the bed and tried to stand up. A sudden wave of dizziness had her sitting back down. Putting her head between her legs, she took deep breaths. Relief washed over her when she realized she was still dressed in the clothes she had put on yesterday. That was good, right? One of her worst fears was being raped, and the thought that it had happened when she was drugged unconscious was terrifying.

Feeling stronger, she stood and carefully made her way downstairs, wondering where Joe was. Her 'spidey sense' was telling her that she needed to get out of there immediately.

Where to go was easy. Rangeman was the only place she knew she'd be safe from Joe and whatever was going on. Then she remembered some of Joe's phone conversation. She needed to call Val and make sure Angie was okay. If she was home or at school, she could relax. Maybe it had all been an awful dream.

Chapter three

She'd never felt as nervous as she was driving toward Rangeman. She pressed the speed dial on her phone for her sister. Val answered on the third ring.

"Val?"

"Stephanie, I'm really busy right now."

"Val, I just was going to ask if I could pick up the girls after school. You know, do some aunt things." Stephanie held her breath and hoped Val bought it. It wasn't a lie, exactly, anyway. Sometimes to help her out, Steph would pick up the girls and they'd spend a few hours after school at the mall.

She heard Val sigh. "Thanks for the offer, but Angie has a meeting after school for the school play, and Mary Alice has a play date. Both girls won't be home until dinner time."

Relief washed through her. Joe couldn't have Angie if she was in school. Maybe it had all been a dream. She pulled into Rangeman and parked. The elevator doors opened as she approached. Ranger held a finger to his lips, then he ran a scanner around her. Lester removed what could only be bugs from several spots. Suddenly, Steph wasn't feeling so well again.

Ranger held her. When the doors opened on five, he directed her to an open conference room door. Inside, Tank, Bobby, Hal, Cal and Hector sat at the table.

Ranger sat after helping her into the chair next to him. "Babe, tell us what happened after you went to Morelli's."

She told him of how Joe had acted surprised to see her and asked if she'd had a bad dream. Then about how she'd woke this morning in the guest room, alone, feeling nauseous and dizzy as if she'd been drugged.

"Bobby?"

"On it, Boss."

Bobby opened a medical bag. He applied a tourniquet to Steph's arm and took a couple vials of blood. After applying a band aid, he exited the room.

"Hector?"

Hector stepped forward with a black box and waved it around Stephanie, then he frowned and said something to Ranger in Spanish. Ranger swore. Steph's implanted tracker was gone. If it had been removed, then that meant that Morelli knew about it and would be looking for another one. Shit, things had just gone from bad to worse.

Steph buried her head in her hands. This didn't make any sense. Angie was safe... she was at school. "What's going on? I thought maybe I was imagining things when Val told me Angie was at school, but now I'm confused!"

"Babe, I don't know what Morelli's up to, but I've got a bad feeling."

After they finished, Ranger suggested Steph go to her desk and get some searches done to take her mind off things and relax. He would have suggested she go home, but he wanted her at Rangeman where he knew she was safe. Whatever was going on with the cop made her not safe anywhere alone. So until they figured out what was up, she was going to have to be stuck to Ranger, his building and his men.

Her phone rang and she answered it after looking at the display. It was Joe.

She could tell from sounds in the background that Joe was at the park. A shiver went down her spine. She looked at the clock. Damn, it was after three. Where had the time gone?

"Hey, Cupcake, imagine my surprise when I found out you had left the house." I could hear the sound of dogs barking and children playing in the background. "Guess who I ran into on the way home, Cupcake?" His voice sounded odd, almost sinister, like it had last night on the phone before she went to his house. This voice scared her and left her shaking.

Her stomach fell. Why hadn't she thought to ask Ranger to put a man on Angie? Stupid Stephanie answered, _Because you were in denial. You grew up with Joe. Deep down, you trusted him to not intentionally hurt you._ Stephanie knew her subconscious was right, but it still hurt her to hear it.

She squeaked out her answer, praying she was wrong and that Angie wasn't there. Let her be at practice like Val said she would be. Stephanie knew she would give anything to hear something different than what she was sure she'd hear.

"Angie?"

"Yeah, Steph, Angie. Here, I'll even let you talk to her so you believe that I have her. Steph, you'll do what I say or she'll…. just disappear. **They're funny things, ****accidents****. You never have them till you're having them**. You do understand, right? Tell me you do." He said that last part so softly that Stephanie had no doubt that Angie hadn't heard it.

Then Angie was on the phone. She was clearly excited. She'd always had a little girl crush on Joe, and him giving her individual attention was obviously making her very happy. Like Val and her mother, Angie liked Joe because he was from the 'Burg and a policeman. They thought he was perfect.

"Hi, Aunt Steph! Joe picked me up from school and we're at the park. He says he'll help me with my school project. Isn't that cool? Uh, I think he wants the phone back."

Stephanie heard Joe tell Angie to go play again, then silence for a few moments. Finally, she heard his voice again.

"Steph, write a note to Manoso. Tell him you're leaving. Make sure he'll believe what you write. No clue's leading to me, or Angie is dead. Leave it in his apartment, then leave the building. If anyone asks, you're meeting Connie or Lula for lunch. Hell, call them and make plans to meet for lunch. When you get downstairs, Mooch will be waiting for you in a white cargo van. Get in it. When Mooch calls me, I'll take Angie home. Hurry, Steph, the clock is running. Tick, tock, tick, tock."

Steph threw down the phone and rushed to Ranger's office to look for paper.

She sat at his desk to think. It was important that she say just the right thing. Joe's instructions were to convince Ranger she was leaving on her own. Well, screw that. If she had learned anything over the years, it was that no matter what the situation was, it was _always_ better to have Ranger and the Merry Men as backup. She was good, but Ranger was much, much better.

When that little voice spoke, Ranger had told her to listen to it. Somehow Joe had known she contacted Ranger the first time. Maybe he had a mole inside Rangeman, as unlikely as that was. Could she take the chance, knowing Angie was at risk? The answer was no.

What could she write that would convince Ranger that she was leaving, but at the same time give him a clue?

**Chapter four**

Satisfied with what she'd written, after reading it over, she stood and walked to Ranger's office. She would leave it on his desk. She gave a silent prayer that he would find it sooner rather than later, that he would understand the message hidden within it.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped.

"Crap, Bombshell, it's only me. Sorry if I scared you." It was Tank, and the hurt in his voice made me feel bad. I've been at Rangeman long enough to know that most of the guys think of me as a little sister, someone they need to watch out for and protect from all the bad things in the world.

"Hey, Tank. Sorry, but guess I'm just a little spooked right now. You understand, with this thing with Joe and all."

Tank nodded. He saw the paper in my hand and raised an eyebrow. I absentmindly played with the paper and gave Tank a shy smile.

"Uhm, Tank, do you know when Ranger will be back from his meeting? It's with Mr. Parks, right?"

Tank raised an eyebrow. "Steph, are you okay? Ranger's meeting is with Mr. Elias for Trenton Jewelry. You did all the searches last week."

"You're right, Tank. Lots on my mind, you know. I just need to leave Ranger something on his desk."

I could see that Tank was looking for the right words to question me about my unusual behavior. I was saved by a couple of phones and an alarm going off. Tank turned back to his station at the monitor.

I slipped into Ranger's office and left the note in the center of his desk, where I was sure he wouldn't miss it when he came in.

Now to get out of the building without running into anyone else... First, I needed to do one other thing. I went to the cabinet in the corner of Ranger's office. I opened it, removed two things and slipped them into my pockets. I said a silent prayer, walked from the room and slipped out the door and down the stairs.

Ranger encouraged his men to use the stairs, but when he was out of the building, most used the elevator, so I figured I was safe.

**Tank's**** POV **

After dealing with the multiple calls and alarms, I turned around. Steph was up to something, and with Ranger out in the field, I knew it was up to me to find out what was going on. I hated to admit it, but the way her mind worked actually scared me sometimes.

Ranger's A-Team had advanced tactical training. We were considered the best the government had, and this little white girl from the 'Burg could think circles around us on some days. Now that was damn scary.

First thing I did when I realized that Steph was gone was rewind the tapes. We had cameras covering every inch of the building, except Ranger's apartment on seven and the restrooms. The conference room could have their audio and video turned off as needed, but only the A-Team had access codes that enabled those cameras to be turned off.

I watched as Steph went into Ranger's office and place the paper she'd had on his desk. She had a mental talk with herself before giving it one last look and walking away from it. What the hell?

Then she walked to the cabinet. I knew that was where Ranger kept a variety of surveillance items, including small cameras, mics like he used with Steph on takedowns, and a whole mess of different kinds of GPS units.

I saw Steph slip something into her pocket, but couldn't make out what it was. Then while I was tied up at the console, she slipped out the door and down the stairs. Shit, Ranger had given me orders to keep Steph in the building today; at least until Bobby got the results back from the blood sample he'd drawn.

I pulled out my phone. "We have a problem. Yeah, Steph left the building. Doing it now."

I started searching the tapes. My fingers flew as I pulled up the tapes that showed Steph opening the lobby door and walking out.

I saw Steph exit the building, look both directions then start walking south until she was out of sight of the cameras. Damn, this was not good.

Steph thought of walking as exercise, not something to be done voluntarily. Shit, something was up, and I'd let Steph just walk out of the building when I knew she had a new stalker. I hadn't checked to see if she had her trackers or was armed. I tried to tell myself it wasn't my fault that I'd been tied up at the console, but that didn't help. I still felt guilty. My gut was yelling at me, telling me something really bad was about to happen.

I rushed to Ranger's office, the phone still to my ear. I instantly spotted the paper. After reading it, I didn't feel much better. For one thing, it didn't make a lick of sense. Steph didn't mention anything about last night. Instead, she told Ranger she's going to meet Lula and they're going to the mall to shop. Not the kind of note Steph would ever leave, let alone one she'd leave for Ranger.

Leaving the note on the desk, I ran for the stairway. Maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to catch up with her.

I only remembered that Ranger was on the phone when I swung the door open and realized I'd never catch up with her.

"Tank, what the hell is going on?" I could hear the anger and tension in Ranger's voice. Only Steph caused him to unmask his emotions that way.

"Man, I'm sorry, she's gone."

"Tank," Ranger was growling at me now over the phone. "What exactly do you mean, she's gone? And you better not mean Steph, or I'm beating your hide until you're white."

I rubbed a hand over my face. I deserved whatever punishment Ranger decided to dole out to me. I'd screwed up, Steph was gone and no doubt in danger, again.

**Chapter Five**

I saw the van when I exited the building. It was far enough down the street to be out of view of the cameras. Damn, I'd hoped they would be captured on film.

Looking up and down the street, I was disappointed to see that it was empty. This street is never empty! I slowed, hoping someone would turn onto the street. Hoping and praying for a miracle. Hands in my pockets, I slowly made my way to the van. All my senses were screaming for me to run, but I had to do this. I had to save Angie.

I climbed in and really wasn't surprised to see that it wasn't Mooch driving, but a stranger. What the hell was going on? Was this a new stalker?

I felt the prick of a needle, and before I could react, everything started to go black. I slumped, my head hitting the floor as I landed. No one noticed as the van pulled from the curb. It passed Rangeman minutes later and continued on its way.

Tank's POV

I knew the first thing I needed to do. Call in reinforcements.

"Ranger, just get here." I flipped the phone closed, just to open it and call the control room.

"I need twelve men, now." I spoke and issued orders as I ran down the street the way Steph had disappeared on the security cameras. I noticed a white van pass by. I paused for a second before continuing down the street. A sign on the side said something about plumbing, so I dismissed it and continued. If Steph was walking, I'd easily be able to catch up to her.

The note had said she was going out to lunch with the girls and then shopping. I looked around the coffee shop on the corner and the small restaurant a little further down the block. I checked both and questioned the staff. No one had seen anyone matching Steph's description.

I was exiting the restaurant when Ranger's car roared to a stop at the curb in front of me. I met Ranger's eyes and just shook my head. Fifteen minutes had passed. I had men on foot and in trucks combing the area. It was as if Steph had stepped from the building and vanished.

I spoke first. "She left a note on your desk. It said she was meeting the girls for lunch and shopping. I know Lula has a doctor's appointment today, and we both know Vinnie is out of town, so no way could Connie leave the office for shopping."

**Ranger's POV**

I frowned and pulled the portable GPS unit we'd been testing out of my pocket. It showed Steph, or at least all the trackers, at Rangeman; her car in the garage, the watch with tracker on the seventh floor and the pen on the fifth. I knew I should be angry. But I also knew that I needed to control my emotions. They wouldn't help us find Steph, and they could get in the way.

I remember when Julie was kidnapped and I'd told Steph that I could do the job because I wasn't emotionally attached to Julie but I was to her. Damn. I had to find her. The fear I'd felt before I found her in that damn cupboard came back. When exactly had I become so attached to her, so attached that the fear of losing her from my life actually paralyzed me?

I needed to find her, and then we needed to talk. Really talk. Sure, my life was dangerous, but so was hers. In a way, hers had become more dangerous than mine in the last few years, as I backed away from government contracts and she went after higher bonds.

I swore and threw the useless tracker to the ground, where it shattered. Tank's hand landed on my shoulder. I knew he was offering support, but at that minute, I didn't want it.

"Relax, man, we'll find her."

"But will it be in time this time?" There I'd expressed my fears.

"I'll just call Lula. She'll tell me they're in the mall, probably getting you something for tonight at Victoria's Secret."

I knew Tank was trying to make me feel better. It didn't help. We'd gone over this already. Steph wasn't with Lula or Connie. Of course, that didn't eliminate her sister or Mary Lou.

Tank picked up the phone and called. The first thing we heard was a lot of puffing. It was clear that Lula had been running. Now I was really concerned.

"Lula, baby, uh, where are you?"

Clearly irked, Lula's voice boomed over the phone. I had no trouble hearing it, even though it wasn't on speaker.

"Tank, that you? Shit, where you think I am. Told you last night I was going after Simon Reynolds today. Fat ass punk thought he would trip me and run away. Stunned his ugly ass. He's laying at my feet drooling now. Maybe I'll give him some more volts before I take him in…"

Tank raised his voice and interrupted her tirade. "Lula, honey, you said you had a doctor's appointment, and you agreed to call before you went after Reynolds." A look at me had him adding, "Have you seen Steph today?"

The tone of Lula's voice changed. Her breathing was not quite as ragged as it had been a minute ago.

"White girl is in a world of trouble. She called the bonds office earlier. Left some dumb ass message about Connie and me meeting her for lunch and shopping. She knows Connie can't go shopping this week. Not with Vinnie out of town."

**Tank's POV**

I closed my phone, knowing I'd pay later for hanging up on my girl. She hated my phone manners as much as Steph did.

I looked at Ranger's disappearing back. Damn, the man was mad. I didn't know what Steph was up to. She knew better than leaving the building the way she had. She had to have had a reason.

Damn, why hadn't I thought of it earlier? I passed Ranger as I raced back to the building, thinking as I ran. I thought about the whole day. Shit, something was off. I remembered my earlier conversation with Steph. She took the stairs down and she left through the first floor reception room, not the garage. Why hadn't she exited through the garage? Why hadn't she taken her car? That only made sense if she was planning on meeting someone. But I remembered the tape, and there had been no one waiting. At least, not where the cameras could see them.

Damn, that meant that whoever Steph was with was familiar with Rangeman and where the cameras were placed. Shit, there were only a handful of men who were even aware Rangeman had cameras outside the building.

Ranger stepped up next to me as I queued up the tape. "Shit man, you have to look at this."

I told Ranger about running into Steph just before she left the building; how I'd felt something was off, the paper in her hand, then the alarms and phones going off. We watched it all play out on the monitor.

"We need to look earlier."

Damn, Ranger was right. We need to know what had caused her to leave the building.

We watched as she worked at her desk. Then she answered her cell. This was it. We could see her tense and look at the camera for a minute before turning away.

I was pulling up the phone log kept on all company issued phones before Ranger could even voice the order. I showed him Stephanie's phone log. The last call she had received was seven minutes long. The call came from Morelli.

Shit, what the hell was Morelli up to? First he threatens Steph's niece and then tries to convince her it was all some sort of dream or nightmare. Now a phone call from him has Steph leaving the building and disappearing.

The interesting thing was that the call originated at Trenton Park... the same park that we all knew Steph often took her nieces to play on the playground.

"I want to know where Morelli is now. I want to know where he's been all fucking day. I want to know what he's been working on lately. And I want all of that information ten minutes ago." Ranger's voice was hard as he issued the command.


	2. Chapter 2

**Warnings: Big ass Joe warning. If you care for Joe at all DO. NOT. READ. THIS. I can guarantee you won't like it.**

**That being said this is an adult fic and deals with adults therefore if you're not 18 you should back click now.**

**Illusions and Fantasies**

**by**

**Das **

**Chapter Six**

**Ranger's POV**

I walked into my office and slammed the door. Shit, damn, fuck! I should have talked to her; explained how important it was that she not leave the building without one of the guys.

I walked to my desk and sat. I saw the note and picked it up. I remembered Tank telling me about the note, and I'd even forgiven him for invading my privacy and reading it.

What the fuck, though... Notes just weren't Steph's style. If she needed to let me know something, even if I was offline, she would call and leave a message on my cell or work number. So why a note this time?

Careful, my Ranger training kicking in, my senses telling me something was off. I reread the note. If Steph was telling me something, I just wasn't getting it.

I pulled up the feed from the cameras. It couldn't hurt to go over them again. I stopped the feed where Steph was at the cabinet. Tank had mentioned it, but neither of us had checked out the cabinet.

As far as I could tell, nothing was out of place. Shit, I'd hoped maybe, maybe she'd thought to take a GPS unit. No, she wouldn't have, not when it was obvious she had left all the ones she had behind. Had she been warned not to bring any? She had known there was a possibility that she would be scanned. She had to have taken something, as the tape clearly showed her putting something in her pocket.

Damn, she had been leaving us clues. Whoever she had gone to meet knew she often carried GPS and trackers. They'd warned her about bringing any with her. This was not good.

**Tank's POV**

I stopped when I saw my friend. All my warning bells were going off. The last time I saw Ranger like this, someone he cared for greatly was dead.

"Carlos, what is it?"

Ranger held up the note and motioned to the cabinet. "She was telling us something. She knew about the cameras. Knew we'd look at them, knew we'd look at her phone log. What did you find out?"

"Morelli was seen today in the park with a little girl. From the description, I would say it was her sister's oldest girl, Angie. The same little girl he threatened Steph with in the phone call he later denied making. We both know he made that call. What we don't know was how he knew that Steph had called us. We checked her phones and her apartment and didn't find any bugs. So he _had_ to have had someone watching her." I was frustrated and knew it showed in my voice.

"Where is he now?"

"He dropped the little girl off at her house, then he got on the highway. He's heading toward DC. I checked with the TPD. He's currently being loaned to DC for an undercover assignment."

The next few days turned into weeks, then months. The RangeMan team questioned everyone of interest, including Steph's family, friends, and close relatives; anyone we could think of.

It seemed that Steph had dropped off the map. We went over her files, checking past and current skips, and found nothing. But we refused to give up; we refused to believe that she could just walk out the door and vanish without a trace.

We knew she was out there, and she was waiting for us to find her.

For the first month, we had round the clock surveillance on Morelli, but it turned up nothing. He was in DC, undercover, doing his job. If he knew something about Steph's disappearance, he wasn't saying anything, and so far, hadn't acted guilty, other than the fact that he was already dating.

**Six Months after Steph's disappearance**

**Ranger's POV**

Tank walked into my office and sat in the chair across from my desk.

"Morelli was spotted at Pino's today. He was eating lunch with Terri Gilman."

I raised an eyebrow. "Thought he was engaged to that teacher he's been dating in DC."

Tank placed a file on my desk. "Joe seems to be cutting ties to Trenton."

I looked through the file. Joe had tendered his resignation from TPD; he had asked to be permanently assigned to DC. It all looked good on paper, but somehow it seemed off.

"I checked with DC. Morelli has been reprimanded twice for not reporting as ordered. Both times he said he had a family emergency, without further explanation."

"Where did he go after Pino's?"

"He took Gilman to the Seven Star Motel, stayed twenty-five minutes, then went to his mother's house. From there, he went to his cousin Mooch's house, spent an hour and then got on the interstate. As of ten minutes ago, he was heading back to DC."

We had tried to get Morelli to take a lie detector test, which he had refused. There hadn't been enough evidence to force him. We knew deep down that he had some involvement, we just had no way to prove it.

For a man who had insisted that he loved Stephanie and wanted to marry her and make her his wife, Morelli hadn't spent any time mourning her loss or showing any great effort in trying to find her. He had started dating less than a week after she went missing.

"Man, we're missing something," Tank grumbled.

"Tank, we've been over both the phone call and the tape. Other than that white van, there's nothing."

**Stephanie's POV**

I don't know where I am or how long I've been here. Funny thing is, I really can't remember much of anything. It's just like I've woken after a really long sleep. The harder I think and try to remember, the more my head hurts.

Shadows dance in my head, but they don't make sense. Some of the voices in my head make me want to remember, while others make me shiver. Names like Babe, Cupcake, Stephanie, Erica. I knew he called me Erica, but I also knew, deep down, it wasn't my name, or it hadn't been my name before coming here.

I heard the voice that makes my insides turn. I felt like I was going to be sick, but then I remember. I can't get sick or he'll punish me again, so I hold it in.

"Erica, bitch, what are you still doing in that bed?" I try to shrink as his hand grabbed my hair and pulled me off the bed. I collapsed when he let go of me.

"Shit, you stink." His boot connected with my ribs. "Get your lazy ass into the shower. Your next john will be up in five and if he complains…"

He left without finishing the threat. I don't know when I quit caring; when the thought of dying was the better choice. Between the drugs and the beatings, I had somehow lost _me_.

I struggled to stand and pulled myself into the shower. As if seeing it for the first time, I cringed at how dirty it was. I turned on the water and kept turning down the cold. I don't know why, but I needed it hot. There was only a trickle coming out, but it was hot. I scrubbed and tried to remember.

Maybe it was self preservation, whatever was in me. I knew that if I didn't remember soon, I would die here. In this room, where he beat me, raped me and sent others to do the same.

I stumbled from the shower. The door opened and the light blinded me as I watched a figure step into the room. I tried to cover myself, and the figure just laughed.

"Cupcake, after all the johns you've had, I figured you wouldn't be modest anymore." He tossed the rag I'd been wearing. At one time, it had been a black t-shirt. I could only guess a man's, by the size of it.

After I pulled on the shirt, I cowered in the corner. "Do I know you?"

The voice sounded familiar, as if I should know it, but my mind wasn't letting me. I knew if he, the man who kept me here, found out I was asking questions, he would punish me. But I needed to know. Maybe this was someone who would help me out.

He walked slowly toward me. Gently, he brushed a curl from my face.

"You don't know who I am?"

I shook my head. How could I know who he was if I didn't even know who I was?

His hand cupped my chin and he brushed his lips across mine. Somehow, his lips felt familiar, yet distant at the same time.

My mind was as clear as it had been in awhile. I decided I had to know. "Who am I?"

He laughed and pulled me to the bed. "Tonight, Cupcake, you're my lover and you'll do anything I want. If you're a good girl, tomorrow we'll talk. Johnson is getting tired of you. Seems your johns aren't walking away happy lately."

**Sometime Later**

Damn, I don't know how long it's been since I had a clear thought. I cringed as I looked around the little dingy room. How long had I been here? Then I asked myself the big question. Where was here?

I vaguely remembered voices, angry voices, then the sounds of fighting and gunshots. Then it had been quiet. But when had that been? How long since I'd heard anything?

Finally, an inner voice, that somehow I knew had been quiet for too long, spoke. _Time to get out of here. Time to go someplace safe._

I didn't question the voice. I just followed it. I ran. Somehow I knew that I would know when to stop running.

**Months Later**

I stepped off the bus. My hair was longer, my eyes duller and much more wary than they had been two years ago. I was no longer the innocent 'Burg girl. I no longer gave trust easily; in fact, I hadn't trusted much at all since I'd left Trenton.

It had taken six months of running for me to remember; to remember Trenton and my life here. But more importantly, I remembered those I'd left behind.

It felt good to be home, yet at the same time, I worried. Could you ever really return home? Especially after what I had been through. Johnson had brutalized me. I'd only just started remembering those first months after he had taken me. Johnson had forced me to be his slave. First he had used drugs, then later he had used his fist.

He had moved us around the country, never staying in one place long. No, it was the realization of how he had gotten me in the first place that had been the really betrayal. Joe had set me up. I needed to know why. That was why I was back in Trenton. I had to come back to where it had all started.

**Chapter Seven**

**Stephanie's POV**

For the last month, I'd been doing research. I'd been shocked at not only how much had changed in Trenton, but at the same time, how much had stayed the same. Some of the research had been as easy as reading back copies of the paper.

It was by reading the paper I'd learned that Connie was running the bail bonds office. There had been an article about Vinnie retiring; seemed he and Lucille had moved closer to her family in Newark.

In a story about my parent's fortieth wedding anniversary, it mentioned that their remaining daughter and her husband had relocated to LA. It had also mentioned the move had been prompted by the disappearance of their younger daughter who was presumed dead. It said Frank had given up driving cabs and was now fully retired, while his wife Helen was active with the local missing persons' branch.

An article about seniors in Trenton had a picture of Grandma Mazur standing in front of my old apartment. A little digging with the post office had confirmed that grandma was indeed living in the little apartment.

An article soon after my disappearance had a statement by Grandma saying she believed that her granddaughter was alive and would someday come back to them. Yeah, Grandma would never give up on her.

It had taken more effort and some real digging to find out that Lula was working part time as a bounty hunter for Connie, but the majority of her time was spent working at RangeMan. That had surprised me, until I found that Lula was engaged to Tank. The announcement had been buried in the back of the paper.

What had surprised me the most was the news of Joe Morelli. Seems Joe had left the 'Burg and made a permanent move to DC. Months after I had gone missing. Currently, he was living with, and engaged to, a preschool teacher. Their wedding was set for next month.

I had to smile at the shock he would get with my reappearance.

As hard as I'd tried, I hadn't been able to find out anything on Ranger. I had found some news on RangeMan, but most of it mentioned the operating CEO as Pierre Nelson, AKA Tank.

I had found two photos in a Miami paper that showed Ranger out with Julie. One had been taken at Julie's quincentera, the other at a lavish ball held to raise money for displaced Veterans. Both had been taken from a distance and were bad photos, not showing much detail.

**RangeMan Headquarters**

**Tank's POV**

"Man, its time you accept she's gone."

I was against the wall with Ranger's arm cutting off my windpipe in seconds. He had given up missions after Stephanie's disappearance, but still kept himself in prime physical shape. I knew I was pulling the tiger's tail by mentioning Stephanie, but the man had almost become a hermit in the past few months.

He personally followed up on every lead now. That had started when some of his investors had screamed about him using RangeMan resources on what they considered to be a dead case.

Ranger planted his hands on the window and looked out.

"She's out there, Tank. I can feel her, she's near."

I sighed. I knew how hard this was for him. I would go crazy if Lula went missing. We'd traveled across the country several times on leads. On more than one occasion, he had felt her presence, but we hadn't been able to find her or any evidence that she had, in fact, been in the area. Lester had been trying to fix him up for months. Tonight was an important dinner. It wouldn't look good for RangeMan if he wasn't there, and he was expected to have a date.

Lester had left it to me to get Ranger to agree to accompany the date he had arranged for the boss.

"Listen, going tonight with Lisa will in no way…"

Ranger growled, cutting me off. "No date. I'll go alone."

**Stephanie's POV**

From the minute I stepped off the bus, I felt eyes on me. Being followed was nothing new, and I'd gotten very good at losing a tail. The cops wanted to talk to me. Johnson's friends wanted to talk to me. Shit, even his enemies wanted me.

I was a very popular girl. I was also very determined not to talk to any of them until I was darn ready to. It would be on my time or not at all.

Slipping down an alley and then onto a bus, I lost my newest shadow. I needed time, time in which to decide my first stop.

Looking out the window, I spotted my tail, Al Reynolds. He was a cop, and whereas before I would have trusted him _because_ he was a cop, I no longer gave trust that easily. I had trusted Joe, and he was a cop. He had also betrayed me more than I could have ever believed possible.

No, now I watched and observed. I would talk to Reynolds, but only once I was on home ground and had backup. Part of me trusted him; the other part, the cautious part, was not so sure.

Closing my eyes, but still fully aware, I thought. Brown eyes filled with concern, I knew where I needed to go. In that second, I knew I needed to go to RangeMan. Ranger would know what to do. I still trusted Ranger, and he would keep from from going to jail.

I didn't want to go to jail. I had no doubt that is where I would go if caught right now. Johnson hadn't been a nice man, and he'd forced me to do things I hadn't wanted to do. I'd seen things done that still haunted me, and would the rest of my life. Funny how those experiences made me feel like I could understand Ranger better now.

I trusted in what we had at one time, and I wouldn't let myself even think that he had moved on. What would I do if he had? What if he was married and his wife was against him helping me? It had been a long time since denial had been my friend.

Johnson had me with him for over a year before he explained how he had gotten Joe to help him get me. Well, I would see that he got his justice in this cluster fuck. I had always thought of Joe as a good man until that point. Now I knew just how far over the line he would go to get what he wanted. Two years ago, it had meant giving her to Johnson.

Johnson had gotten Joe the information he needed to get his promotion in exchange for the 'Bombshell Bounty Hunter'. Joe had been working undercover when he met Johnson. According to Johnson, they had similar taste in a lot of things, including sex.

I slipped from the bus a block from RangeMan. I felt a chill go down my spine. The last time I'd been here was the day I'd been taken. RangeMan looked the same. Somehow that felt wrong, as if time had stood still for me.

I sat in the little coffee shop half a block down, just watching the comings and goings for awhile.

It felt nice, being free to do as I pleased.

I gasped when I saw Tank enter the building with Bobby and Lester.

The time had come. It was now or, well, now. I really had no choice. Reynolds was hot on my tail, and I knew a couple of Johnson's business associates wouldn't be far behind. I mean, really, where else would I run to? They all knew I would return to Trenton, and eventually, RangeMan.

Ranger had once told me that what we did for each other had no price. I certainly hoped that it still held true.

I needed a friend, someone I could count on as I had once trusted and counted on Ranger. Looking back, he had been my rock, so many times, and I really needed him now.

As I stepped from the coffee shop, I stopped and gasped. Ranger's Porsche was turning into the RangeMan garage, but I could clearly see it was a woman driving.

A tear ran down my face. Shit. I was about to turn and find a place to lay low while I thought of something else, when I spotted Reynolds. Shit, now I had no choice.

I prayed as I walked towards and entered the RangeMan lobby.

I didn't recognize the man behind the counter, but he was clearly checking me out. Johnson had made sure I was toned and fit. He'd punished me once, telling me he despised unfit women. My curly hair was just touching my ass, and although my eyes were not the windows to my soul they had once been, they were clear and sparkling blue. Johnson had loved how I could attract male attention without even trying.

Then it had been my girl-next-door innocence. Now, it was a guarded something, like I had a secret I was sure you would want to know and I wasn't sharing.

"Miss, may I help you?"

I hesitated a minute. I noticed that he was flipping buttons and switches. He was using the face recognition pattern program to identify me. To see if I was a threat.

If he only knew.

"Uh, I need to see Ranger."

He laughed. "You and every other woman in this state."

He gave a nod to a magazine he was looking at. On the cover was a picture of Ranger. It read 'Most Eligible Bachelor of the Year, Ricardo Carlos Manoso, CEO RangeMan Securities, LLC. I blushed. The Ranger I knew would have hated not only the title, but the publicity. Ranger liked low key. He had hated the notoriety that Julie's kidnapping had brought to him.

He looked me up and down. "Bossman goes for flashier, but I get off in an hour if you're interested."

I couldn't believe that any RangeMan employee would dare talk about Ranger this way. I looked up at the camera in the corner and wondered for an instant if there was anyone on five who would recognize me.

The Ranger I knew had been controlled and careful. The men he had working for him had been the same way. This bozo just didn't strike me as RangeMan material.

What had changed? Was Ranger still the man I'd known? Could I still count on him to have my back?

I hoped so. Otherwise, I was in deep shit.

"Uh, no. Uh, thanks, but I need to see Ranger about business."

Just then, the outside door to the lobby opened and Reynolds walked in.

Before bozo could say another insulting word, I said, "No, you don't understand. Ranger is…well, he was a friend. I need help..."

Before I could finish, the elevator doors opened.

**Chapter** **Eight**

**Bobby's** **POV**

Tank, Lester and I charged out, guns drawn. Stephanie looked from us to our guns to Reynolds, then collapsed into a pile. I was the first to her, scooped her up and stepped onto the elevator.

"Four, NOW!" I shouted. I wasn't going to waste time dealing with the cluster fuck downstairs. I'd seen Stephanie's head hit the floor and bounce before I could reach her. The fact that she was unconscious wasn't sitting well with me. I wanted her in a monitored bed in the RangeMan clinic. Lester and Tank could deal with whatever was happening downstairs.

I wasted no time getting Stephanie into a bed. I did the preliminary check, and other than a knot on her head, everything checked out. I knew without x-rays and tests, there was only so much I could tell. RangeMan had a portable x-ray and its own lab. I started with the x-rays. At first, I was only going to do her head, but then I thought about how long she'd been gone. X-rays may give us an insight into what she'd been through while she was gone, and they could speak even if she was unconscious.

After I finished with the x-rays, I drew blood. I sent some off to the state lab, while the rest was sent to our lab here in the building. I was just finishing when Steph started moaning and tried to sit up.

**Stephanie's** **POV**

I told myself to keep the questions simple. Who am I? Where am I? And how the heck did I get here? I tried to open my eyes and cringed at the pain. Damn, who knew light could be so bright and make your head ache so badly.

"Easy, Stephanie. Your head hit the floor pretty hard."

Stephanie! That reminder of my name started a slide show of my life, and it wasn't pretty. Guess I must have moaned, because Bobby was there supporting me and helping me to sit up.

"You have a mild concussion and probably a killer headache."

Talk about an understatement. I felt like I'd just gone a round with, well, something. I opened my eyes and glared at Bobby.

I swear he was smiling so hard I thought his face would break. Guess he was glad to see me. Now if my life could just stop sucking.

"Stephanie, life is great. Just remember without bad times, we wouldn't know the difference. And we wouldn't appreciate the good nearly as much."

"Did I say that out loud?"

Bobby just nodded.

I tried to lay down. I mean, I had the answer to some of my questions. I knew who I was and I was pretty sure here was someplace in the Rangeman building. Other than that, at the moment I really didn't care. All I wanted right now was sleep.

I guess the operative phrase was tried to lay down. Bobby held me up. He started shining a light into my eyes, which I clamped shut.

"Steph, open your eyes. You can rest after I check them again."

**Meanwhile, down**** in the Lobby**

**Tank's** **POV**

After the elevator door closed, I pulled out my phone. I sent a quick text, then dialed.

"Yeah, need you down here. Understood." I flipped the phone shut and placed it back on my belt.

Then I turned my attention to Reynolds.

"You were told you weren't welcome here."

Reynolds looked at the guns pointed in his direction and grinned. "You do know you're threatening a police officer."

Lester chuckled. "Reynolds, you're scum. Last I heard, you were walking a beat in Texas."

"I was promoted."

"To what? Dog catcher? Cause you sure were a lousy cop," I told him.

"You're just sore cause I got the bust before RangeMan."

I released the safety on my gun. "So far you haven't convinced me I shouldn't shoot you for walking in here." My voice was low and had a menace to it.

"I'm just here for the girl. Been tracking her for some time. I have papers." He reached into his coat.

Lester cocked his gun. "Reynolds, I would keep your hands where we can see them."

Reynolds smiled up at the camera in the corner. "You wouldn't shoot me on tape. Hard to prove probable cause with it on tape."

I spoke to the man behind the counter. "Sanders, would you please show Mr. Reynolds what that camera is recording."

Sanders grinned and pointed to the monitor. At first, it showed Stephanie walking in the door, then it was nothing but static.

"Sorry, sir, but it must have…"

I cut him off. Sanders was new and had no way of knowing that I had scrambled the feed as soon as the elevator doors had opened.

"Reynolds, I suggest you go crawl back under whatever rock you crawled out from under, or into whatever bottle. Whiskey, wasn't that your preferred poison?"

Reynolds pushed the door open. "I'll be back, with back-up."

We watched as Reynolds stopped outside the door to make a call.

**Reynolds'** **POV**

"I tracked her to RangeMan, but their goons grabbed her before I could."

"Why the fuck didn't you grab her before she got there?"

"You think I didn't try to get to her before she got here? Well, fuck you. You're the one that fucked this up!" There was sputtering on the other end of the phone. "Yeah, you heard me. You should have killed her instead of fucking her."

"You just keep watching her. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Okay, I'll keep an eye out until you get here." I hung up the phone, irritated.

Shit, this sure was some cluster fuck I'd landed in. When I'd been approached about smuggling girls in over the Mexican border for the white slave traders, I'd been excited, especially when they started speaking my language: money. It had all seemed so easy. Twice a week, I'd look the other way when a certain truck passed through the gates.

Then the feds had shown up. Suddenly, I found myself straddling a fence, playing each side against the middle. I had thought I'd found my out when I found a certain brunette one evening. She was strung out and talking nonsense, but I'd looked into her story.

Then I'd contacted Joe Morelli. The money started flowing again, for awhile, at least. Morelli was bucking for a promotion and didn't want waves. The brunette, I'd found out, was one very big wave.

She had been Morelli's girlfriend until he traded her as part of an undercover assignment. Only one little problem, he seemed to have forgotten to tell his bosses what he'd done.

So now, things were crazy. I'd been searching for the girl, the bad guys were searching for the girl, and everyone was up in arms about it all.

**Chapter** **9**

**Bobby's POV**

"Come on, Stephanie, please. Let me check your eyes, then I'll let you sleep for awhile." Damn, she was one stubborn woman. I knew I could overpower her and force the issue, but without knowing what she'd been through, I didn't want to risk more trauma or cause her more stress. After all, it was plain she had come to us for help.

"I can sleep." Her voice was filled with caution and mistrust. Her exhaustion showed when she yawned as she finished. A hand came up to rub an eye.

"As soon as I finish checking you, I promise."

"Where am I?"

"RangeMan Medical Clinic, fourth floor. Steph, no one is getting in here without my okay."

I watched as her lip quivered and her eyes filled. She was doing a really good job holding it together. Her voice was shaky as she spoke. "I don't want to get poked and stuff. I just want to sleep."

I was glad I'd gotten all the blood drawn and x-rays taken before she woke up.

"Steph, I just need to check your eyes, promise. I might have to wake you up in a few hours. You know the drill with concussions."

I smiled when I saw her roll her eyes. Good to see some of her 'Burg attitude returning.

I looked into her eyes, then turned the lights down low so she could sleep. I could tell how exhausted she was by the fact that she was out before I got the lights lowered.

I took the few steps to the office, left the door open, and the intercom on. I wanted to know if Steph woke or became restless.

I pulled up the program that showed the initial results of the test and x-rays. Shit, she had healing and completely healed fractures to both arms, legs, and evidence of a skull fracture. Basically at some point in the last two years, she had been beaten almost to death. The x-rays said she was lucky to be alive.

Then I looked at the labs. Shit, she was anemic, and there were trace amounts of several illegal drugs showing. She would need a full physical, and I knew she would fight me. Steph was the only one at RangeMan, other than Ranger, who fought me when it came to physicals. I thought for a minute, then smiled.

Oh yeah, I knew just the person to give Stephanie her physical. Celia Manoso, who just happened to staying in an apartment on four currently.

Celia was Ranger's older sister, and she was here trying to talk some sense into Ranger. He was being honored as Trenton's Bachelor of the Year at a special dinner, and he was expected to be accompanied by a date. So far, Ranger had refused to bring a date. Celia had even suggested that he bring Lisa, who had been friend of the family since early childhood. Lisa had a partner, so she wouldn't be looking for any romance or attachment of any kind from Ranger. He had still refused.

I sighed. Damn, time to call control to find Celia and get her down here. She could exam Stephanie, and hopefully get her to talk. There was no doubt she would need counseling to get over what she'd been through.

"Yo, where is Celia?"

"Uh, Sir, she left the garage in Ranger's Porsche ten minutes ago."

Damn, Ranger really had a way with women. If Celia left the building with the Porsche, that meant she was out blowing off steam after arguing with her little brother.

I held in a laugh, but let a smile slip out. After all, there was no one here to see it. I glanced out the door to make sure Steph was still sleeping. Damn, it was good having her back.

None of us had given up on finding her, even after her parents and most of her friends had. Well, all her friends except for Lula. Lula had never lost faith that Stephanie would come back.

Blood work and x-rays could only tell us so much. I knew Steph would have to tell us the rest. I just hoped that Celia would be able to talk Steph into a full physical. I suspected that Steph had been abused in every way a woman could be abused. Blood tests would show if she'd picked anything up.

A look at the clock told me it was time to check Steph's vitals again. It was a relief that with what the preliminary test had shown, she wasn't showing any signs of withdrawal. The amounts that had shown up were what he would expect to see between one and three months after the drug use had stopped. The question was, why had it taken so long for her to come home? Of course, some of the drugs could cause a sort of temporary amnesia, so that was a possibility.

I made a mental reminder to check with my friend at the state lab to see what other tests they might need to run. I would breathe easier when I had all the tests back and could tell just what she was facing. Some drugs had long term effects.

Meanwhile in the lobby

**Tank's POV**

Once Reynolds was out the door, I turned to Sanders.

Sanders was showing signs of being nervous, and he was sweating heavily. "Uh, Sir, I don't…"

I cut him off. "Sanders, gym, 0430. Understand?" I waited for his nod, then turned to Lester.

"Start digging. If he has papers to pick up Stephanie, I want to know who issued them. Do a search on Reynolds, see if he's back working for the feds."

Ranger hurriedly stepped out of the elevator. He looked calm, but I could tell there was a nervous energy running through him. He took a deep breath and raised an eyebrow.

"Steph?"

"Bobby has her in the clinic. She fainted and hit her head before we could get to her."

"Reynolds?"

"I sent him on his way. Lester's getting on it now." We both glanced to the shutting elevator doors.

I watched as Ranger's eyes darted to Sanders. I did a bare smile. "Review the tapes. He'll be in the gym at 0430."

"I'll be in the clinic. Call me when you have something."

I watched as my boss, partner, and friend disappeared into the stairwell. I knew it had taken a lot for him to check out the situation before checking on Stephanie. I was also one of the few who knew that he had been about to ask her to move in with him when she had disappeared two years ago.

My Blackberry sounded. I looked at it and smiled.

_Contact Jane Fields_

Jane was the best therapist in the business, when it came to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It was common RangeMan practice to have any men returning from a mission checked out by her before receiving clearance to return to duty.

**Lester's POV**

I couldn't believe that fucker Reynolds was involved in this. Typing his name into the search engine had been a pleasure. I added Texas to the search we had been running on Stephanie. Until now, nothing had popped up. I waited.

It wasn't long before screens started popping up with information on Reynolds. So far, nothing had popped up under Stephanie's name. Time to start printing and digging through everything.

**Twenty Minutes later**

Shit, Reynolds had been a bad boy, but it looked like he had started trying to redeem himself.

He'd done two stints in rehab. There was no sign of his returning to drugs or alcohol; it looked like he'd been clean for seventeen months.

He was currently working on a joint taskforce. That would take more digging, and maybe a favor or two called in, to see exactly what he was working on. I decided to make the calls before I finished going through what I had.

"Hey, Tony. Yeah, need everything you have on Reynolds." I waited as he said to hold on. "Thanks. Do you know what he's into right now?" He made noises about the info being interesting. "Interesting?" I made notes as he continued telling me about Reynolds. "Thanks."

I put everything I had in a file, and headed to Ranger's office. I hadn't found anything on Stephanie, but Reynolds had been a wealth of information.

I knocked and waited for Ranger to acknowledge me before entering.

I placed the file on his desk and sat.

He flipped the file open. "Lester, just tell me."

**Ranger's POV **

I didn't want to be here in my office, but Bobby had kicked me out of the clinic. He had pointed out that I had a business to run, and that at the moment, Stephanie was sleeping and wasn't likely to wake anytime soon. Hopefully before she woke up, we'd know something. Plus, we needed to be prepared when Reynolds showed back up. If he really did have papers to detain Stephanie, we needed to be ready to counter him.

I tried to read Lester as he walked in and sat down, then placed a file on my desk.

I flipped the file open, but kept my eyes on Lester.

"Lester, just tell me." I could tell from reading his body language that he'd found something.

"Reynolds is part of a task force investigating a group suspected of trafficking in the white slave trade. They deal everything from babies to prostitutes. Just so happens, it's the same group Morelli was involved with when Steph went missing."

He stopped when the phone rang.

"Yo."

"You might want to come down. Stephanie is beginning to come around," Bobby's voice said through the phone.

"I'll be right down." I closed the phone and stood.

"Bomb…I mean…"

"It's okay, Lester. Steph is waking up. Bobby thinks we should come down. Get Tank and meet us down there."

**Chapter 10**

**Lester's POV**

I glanced at my friend. I could pick up the tension from the other man, and I knew if I could, then Steph would also.

"Man, you need to get it together before we get down there. It won't do Steph any good to feel how tense you are."

Ranger let out a low growl, then started to do what he needed to gain control of his emotions. It wasn't often that his control slipped, but when it did, it wasn't usually a good thing for him or those around him. After all, he was a trained killer.

By the time the elevator doors opened, both of us wore blank, Rangeman-issued faces. We walked in step to the clinic doors. We each took a breath before opening the door and walking in.

We paused. Stephanie was sitting on one of the three beds in the room, talking in low tones to Bobby. She stopped talking and looked up when we entered the room.

**Ranger's POV**

I clenched my hands as I noticed the tear tracks on her face and the sadness that flowed from her eyes. Bobby stood.

"Steph, I'll be right back. Do you mind if Lester keeps you company while I go over some business with Ranger?"

"Okay, I guess." If anything, Steph seemed nervous about being left alone.

Bobby whispered quietly in Lester's ear, just loud enough for the two of us to hear, as he passed him. "Be careful with her. She's fragile right now." Then in a normal tone, he said, "I'll be right in my office if you need anything."

I looked from Stephanie to Bobby, then followed Bobby into his office and shut the door.

"Tell me. How bad is it?" I knew Bobby wouldn't have wanted to meet in his office if there was nothing to discuss.

"X-ray shows multiple healing and already-healed fractures. I'm not worried about her physical condition. That we can fix. It's her mental condition I'm worried about. She was on drugs most of the time she was missing, and just started remembering things a few months ago. She's going to need intensive therapy to help her get over the shock of what happened to her while she was gone, especially when she remembers it all."

"Jane Fields?"

"I already put in a call to her. She'll be here soon."

I knew there was more when Bobby started moving papers around on his desk.

I put my hand on top of Bobby's to stop the nervous movement. "What else?"

Bobby swallowed, as if he knew what he had to tell me would piss me off.

"I asked Celia to exam Steph."

I gave him a dark glare. "Why? Dammit, Bobby, you could have found someone else. You know how I feel."

"Ranger, she's staying right here in the building. She's your sister; Steph will trust her just because of that. Trust is very important right now for her. Plus, this is Celia's specialty. You do want Steph to have the best, don't you?"

I turned so I could look out the window. I watched as Lester and Stephanie talked. My Babe looked so guarded, as if she needed to think through every word before she spoke. Before, she had been my light, open, always seeing the good in others. It was what drew the crazies to her and made me love her.

"Did she tell you much?"

Bobby shook his head. "She still hasn't remembered much, which is probably for the best."

Just then, the intercom buzzed.

"Yes?" Bobby answered.

It was Hal in the control room. "Jane Fields just arrived. She's on her way up. Uh, also, Celia just pulled into the garage."

As I'd feared, the next hour had been pure madness. Celia and Jane had ushered all of us men from the clinic, before I could even say a word to Stephanie. I missed my Babe, and had hoped to spend some time with her. Celia and Jane had nixed that idea right away, stating Steph needed some quiet and rest.

I knew Steph was in good hands. No doubt Celia would work her magic and get Steph to consent to a full physical, and Jane would get her talking.

**Stephanie's POV**

**Meeting with a Therapist**

Bobby had mentioned talking to a therapist, and I had agreed. I hadn't known what to expect, and when Jane and Celia walked into the room, I immediately recognized Celia as the woman I had seen driving Ranger's car. Bobby made introductions all around, then Celia and Jane had taken charge and kicked the men out of the room. She had actually shoo'd them. That had been something to see: big, muscle-bound men forced out of a room by two women, who together couldn't have weighed in at two hundred pounds.

Celia had Ranger's coloring, but their similarities stopped there. Celia was small, my mom would call her dainty, with the most vivid green eyes I'd ever seen. Jane was very similar to Celia, and if I didn't know better, I would say they were sisters.

Jane Fields had been a therapist for years; she had treated all the RangeMan who still did active missions at least once. She had been an Army brat, and had lived at more bases than she could name. Bobby had convinced me that talking to her would help with some of my issues.

Celia was the first to start talking.

"I hope it's okay that Bobby filled me in on your case. You were held for two years?"

I simply nodded. She opened a file.

Jane used that moment to talk. "Stephanie, I believe that we form our own lives, that we create our own reality, and that everything works out for the best. I know I drive some people crazy with what seems to be ridiculous optimism, but it has always worked for me."

I stood and walked to the window so I could stare out. "I remember something my dad told me right after I found my ex on the dining room table with my arch enemy."

"_Stephanie, just __remember, today__ you may think this is the worst day of your life. __But that__ which doesn't kill you makes you __stronger, and__ you're one of the strongest women I know. I'm really proud of __you, pumpkin__. Don't ever let someone tell you to accept what you know is wrong. __Remember__, you've got to dream a lot of little dreams before you can dream a big dream and make it happen. So marriage to the ass wasn't for you. I know you will find the path that's right for you."_

"_Oh, Daddy. I love you." __Then I had__ collapsed into his arms. __When I awoke__ the next __day, I had started putting my life__ back together._

Recalling that, I realized my dad had said just the right things to me that night. I _was_ strong. Now I just needed to refocus and find one of those little dreams my dad had been talking about.

"Just remember, Steph, you must look deep inside your heart and ask what you really want. If your immediate answer is 'dessert,' you missed your heart and went directly to your stomach."

I turned and met Jane's eyes, and for the first time in months, I truly laughed.

That broke the ice, and everything came much easier after that. It took some talking on Celia's part, but I finally consented to a full physical, with Celia's promise to only share with Ranger and the guys what I was comfortable with them knowing. I knew eventually they would have to know everything, but just not right now.

**Celia's POV**

As a physician, I was shocked at the amount of damage I found when I examined Stephanie Plum. I had been told that she had been kidnapped and held prisoner for the last two years, so I had expected some damage.

It was the severity that shocked me. Almost every rib had been broken more than once. Both arms and legs had already-healed and still healing breaks. There was evidence that she had suffered a fractured skull, as well. All of that was before I did the internal pelvic exam.

I didn't know Ms. Plum well, but unless she was very lucky, chances were that she would never carry a child to term. She had been raped repeatedly, both anally and vaginally, and had formed a lot of scar tissue that she would need surgery to remove if she wanted to have a normal sex life in the future.

Jane has started talking to her as I did my exam. Stephanie Plum is one strong woman, and I would do my best to make her whole again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Warnings: Big ass Joe warning. If you care for Joe at all DO. NOT. READ. THIS. I can guarantee you won't like it.**

**That being said this is an adult fic and deals with adults therefore if you're not 18 you should back click now.**

**Illusions and Fantasies**

**by**

**Das **

_**Chapter 11**_

**Stephanie's POV**

I can't believe how strong and good I feel. It's been six weeks since I walked into RangeMan. Six weeks of heaven and hell. Celia and Jane have been both my angels and the devil on my back. They refuse to let me crawl into denial. With the help and support of everyone in the building, I've begun to face what what happened to me these last two years.

I haven't talked to my parents yet. In fact, the only ones I've talked to in Trenton are in this building. Jane has reassured me that baby steps are okay at this point.

"Hey, you look like you're in deep thought. Do you need to talk?" Jane asked as she stepped onto the treadmill next to mine.

Yeah, Stephanie Plum now works out on a regular base. The Merry Men pointed out that it's a good way to work through stress.

Before I could answer, Ranger stepped onto the machine on the other side of me. We aren't back to where we were before I was taken, but we're working on it. I have some serious trust issues, and he was being very understanding. Jane and Celia thought it was time I filled Ranger in on what had happened to me, especially the parts that involved Joe Morelli. I had cried and raged for days when those memories first surfaced.

How could a man that I had trusted and loved have betrayed me? Forced himself on me and degraded me. Even though I knew deep down that Ranger would never hurt me in such a way, my mind had trouble accepting that truth.

"Babe, Celia says we need to talk. Please tell me you're ready." I smiled at him. He had been so patient with me. "Babe, I just want to help. Please tell me."

"You know what, Ranger? I can't tell you that because I refuse to lie to you."*

My heart loved Ranger. No, not Ranger, but Carlos, the man Ranger had shown me these past weeks. I wouldn't lie to him. I wondered if I could go into Denial Land.

I upped the speed on the treadmill. Silly, I was on a stationary treadmill. I couldn't outrun him, and I knew eventually I would have to tell him everything. He had been beyond patient with me. I know that since I'd returned, he had only left the building when he had to, and when he was gone, he had men ready to help me in any way they could.

Sighing, I put the treadmill in cool-down mode. I glanced at Ranger. Yup, I was amusing him. My heart soared a little at his barely-there smile.

"I'm only doing this once. Can we all meet in one of the conference rooms?"

Ranger nodded.

I looked at the wall clock. It was 6:00 in the morning. I know it was earlier than I used to get up, but another side effect of the last two years was that I had trouble sleeping for more than an hour or two at a time. Jane was helping me with that, among other things.

"Is 1:00 okay? I need to talk to Jane first."

Ranger placed a kiss on my forehead. "We'll be there, Babe."

**Meeting with Jane**

"Stephanie, don't be surprised when you finally get your dream. I can almost guarantee, the biggest surprise will be it won't look anything like the goal you had way back when you first began to dream it. It will be even better than you imagined."

I thought for a minute. "You really think so? You're not just yanking my chain?"

"Stephanie, I just need you to remember that dreams are how we figure out where we want to go, but life is how we get there. So make sure you enjoy the journey. Sometimes the road can be bumpy. Every journey begins with a single step. I think you're ready to take the step."

I smiled at her. "Now it's time for recovery."

Jane smiled at me. "No, Stephanie, now is time for revenge."

I wrung my hands. "I can't believe I thought I loved him. I was thinking about marrying him, and he did this to me."

"Stephanie, remember the **p****leasure of love lasts but a moment, pain of love lasts a lifetime.*** Joe seriously deceived you, but you're strong. You can recover from this and move on, or you can dwell on it and become stagnant. The choice is yours. Are you ready to move on?"

I looked from Jane to the closed conference room door. We were meeting here so I could relax before I met with Ranger and the core team, Bobby, Lester, and Tank.

**Chapter Twelve**

**Bobby's POV**

Lester and I watched as Tank and Ranger went another round in the ring. This had been Ranger's form of release since Stephanie's return. We both grimaced as Tank absorbed another round of punishing blows from Ranger.

"Ya know, I didn't understand it when the boss started helping Stephanie, but I think I'm getting smarter. **No one is perfect until you fall in love with them.*** Remember that first redecorating job she came on?"

I nodded, waiting to see where Lester was going with this.

"Well, you see, I figure the boss had already been in love with Steph by then but didn't know it yet. **We choose those we like; with those we love, we have no say in the matter.*** The boss he knew he liked her, otherwise he wouldn't have trusted her to help us. He certainly wouldn't have tried to help her. I'm thinking he finally realized he loved her later."

Yeah, I thought. Maybe someday we'd meet someone like Stephanie. We both knew that was what we were hoping for... to meet that girl that was the one. Of course, I think destiny somehow had a hand in making sure Stephanie and Carlos met. At least, I hope so. It would be wrong for there to be two people so perfect for each other and to never have them meet. Soul mates, as my grandma called them, should be together.

**Ranger's POV**

Getting in the ring had always been a way for me to think and work off steam. Tank was close enough to me to know that, and he was big enough to handle most of what I threw at him.

Celia had been really close-mouthed about what she had found out during her exam of Stephanie. Jane preached client/patient confidentiality. So even though I had my own thoughts of what had happened, until Stephanie chose to fill me in, I was in the dark. That was somewhere I hated to be when Steph was involved.

Even Bobby had only given me a brief overview of what he'd found. I understood they felt the need to protect Steph, and they needed her trust, but this is the woman that I've finally admitted to myself that I love. I knew I needed to clue the lady in on the fact that I've decided I want a life with her. Fuck, I want more than a life. I want forever.

**Love is like heaven, but it can hurt like hell.*** Ever since Stephanie had disappeared, I'd been trying to work out how I would tell her if I ever had the chance. I'd come to the conclusion that I would just have to man up. I would invite her up to seven, have Ella cook a fabulous dinner with all her favorites, then I'd spill my guts and hope for the best. Of course, I hoped that the candles, wine, and soft music would help. If not, I was willing to beg.

**Conference Room 1300**

**Stephanie's POV**

Jane and I had finished our talk and opened the door, which let the guys know it was safe to enter. They entered and sat at the table, looking at the folders in front of each seat.

"Uh, before you open those folders and start reading, I just want to tell you that I trust each and every one of you."

There were nods and grunts. I could tell they were all uncomfortable about what they were about to learn. I knew they had seen worse on missions, but this was different. This was personal. One of their own had been hurt, and I knew they would retaliate, with force.

I could hear Ranger's teeth grind as he turned pages. Tank swore. The cup Lester had been drinking coffee out of shattered, just as Ranger stood. His chair flew back and smashed into the wall a minute before his fist.

**Jane's POV**

Celia and I watched Stephanie's reaction. She flew to Ranger's side, which was a good sign. After what she'd been through, it wouldn't have surprised me if the outburst caused her to cower and pull back. I liked the healthy reaction of her going to the one she loved, feeling his pain through her own.

Ranger pulled her into his embrace. "Babe, I'm sorry..."

Stephanie pulled back, her hands on his face. "No, don't...this was not your fault."

"I'll kill him."

Stephanie, Celia, and I looked at the other men in the room. We wouldn't want to be Joe Morelli right now.

Stephanie met each of their eyes before moving on. "This happened to me. I know you all want to protect me but I have to be involved in this."

"Babe," Ranger let out a healthy sigh. "How do you want to handle this?"

******Stephanie's POV**

The guys all had difficulty reading the file in front of them. Tank, Bobby and Lester looked at Ranger and me, waiting. They would certainly avenge my kidnapping and everything. It wasn't in them to let this go unpunished. Joe Morelli was going down, and hard, if they had anything to say about it. They all were really good at hiding bodies.

I'd watched as they'd all grimaced and swallowed hard while reading about what I had been through and the part Morelli had played. I knew they were thinking of the act he had put on as my grieving boyfriend.

I looked to Celia and Jane, getting their silent support. "Uh, first I need to let everyone know I'm back. I figure I'll call Val after I go see my parents. That should get the 'Burg grapevine going."

Tank groaned, and I turned to him.

"Lula is going to kill me if she finds out you're back through the grapevine."

I was stunned. "You haven't told her?"

Knowing they were a couple, I had just assumed that he had shared the news with her.

Tank shook his head. "I couldn't. We all knew it wouldn't be safe for you. If I'd told Lula, she would have told Connie. I couldn't, wouldn't, take the chance."

"But Reynolds..."

I had wondered what had happened with Reynolds, but had been so busy recovering I hadn't given him a lot of thought. Well, that, and I had used my friend denial, and just kept pushing him to the back of my mind with all the other crap I knew I would have to deal with someday. It looked like someday was here.

"Babe, it wasn't in Reynolds' best interest to share the fact that you were back in town. For the time being, Reynolds is contained."

I swallowed. Ranger sat and pulled me down on his lap. Over the last few weeks, we had talked briefly, and I had become much more physically comfortable. In fact, I had come to crave his closeness. We shared most meals. Of course, we were seldom alone; either Jane, Celia, or one or more of the Merry Men were usually with us.

"Tank, why don't you bring Lula to dinner tonight? I'll wait until tomorrow to see my parents. It's been this long. One more night won't make a difference."

We all spent the next few hours going over plans and coming up with the perfect revenge to exact on Joe Morelli.

Later that night on seven

**Lula's POV**

I don't know what is up with my man Tank, but he's been all jumpy like a cat in a room full of rocking chair ever since he picked me up for dinner tonight. I knew something was up when he told me we were having dinner at Ranger's seventh floor apartment. Since we've been together, we've had dinner with Ranger and the rest of the guys frequently, but never on the seventh floor.

I watched as Tank rapped softly on the door, as if he was afraid it would explode or something.

Then my heart jumped and I screeched and lurched forward. I know my heart was fluttering. I felt thrilled, hurt, excited, dizzy, and faint, all at the same time.

"White girl..."

I felt Tank pulling my arms off of Stephanie, and I fought without realizing it to not let go.

"Honey, loosen up. She needs to breathe. Ranger will ship you to a third world country if you kill her with your hug."

Without really letting her go, I looked at her. She looked good, healthy, but too damn skinny. Then I looked around the room. I felt myself jump into rhino mode.

"How long you been back?"

I glared at Tank and the other men in the room as I asked Stephanie the question that had suddenly popped into my head. We had all had dinner at least once a week, and none of them had mentioned Stephanie being back.

"Lula, if you let me go so I can breathe, we can talk."

I cast an accusing look at my man. "You knew she was back."

We were a couple. He was supposed to be working on sharing with me. I knew he couldn't tell me about everything, but this was Stephanie!

_**Chapter 13**_

**Stephanie's POV**

"Lula, I'm going to visit my parents tomorrow."

Lula looked from me to the men surrounding us. We watched as what I'd said sunk in. My parents didn't know I was back. When I went to their house, the entire 'Burg would know. Tank grabbed Lula, guided her to the couch, and helped her sit. She had gone as pale as a black woman could, and was visibly shaking.

I waited for it all to sink in, and for Lula to meet my eyes. When they did, I did the single nod the guys were always doing.

"Yeah, Lula, after tomorrow, everyone will know I'm back and still alive."

Tank pulled Lula closer to him, if that was possible, and spoke softly into her ear.

"Honey, you're here so we can fill you in on what has happened to Stephanie and you can help us with the revenge."

Bobby handed Tank a folder. "Tank, maybe you and Lula should use Ranger's office."

Tank nodded as he stood, taking Lula with him. They both disappeared into the office. No one moved as we waited for the door to close.

I felt Ranger's arms go around me and gently pull me into his warm, comforting embrace. "You okay, Babe?"

I knew Lula's emotions were nothing compared to what I would face when my parents found out I was back, and that I had, in fact, been in town and not told them. That fact alone would hurt them. I was still going over in my mind what I would tell them.

Jane and Celia had reassured me they didn't need to know everything; just the bare facts that I had been kidnapped and held for two years. I wouldn't reveal where I'd been, or any of what had happened to me during those two years. I had escaped and made my way back to Trenton. I had gone to RangeMan because I was afraid my kidnapper was still after me, and I knew RangeMan had the resources to help me.

I would not reveal the fact that Joe had been involved. We wanted Joe to believe I didn't know he was involved; we wanted him to come to us. If he didn't, then we would go with plan B. Only the people in the apartment right now would ever know everything I had been through, and that I now remembered most of it.

I had cried, raged, and thrown things as Jane helped me through it. The mental and physical pain of remembering that last encounter with Joe, when he had raped me anally, still hurt. Remembering his cruel words also hurt. Sure, he'd thought I was drugged out of my mind and would never know, but still... He had told me he loved me and wanted me to be his wife, but the things he said to me as he'd raped me were so horrible.

"Babe, what wrong?"

I flinched, even though I knew it was Ranger who was wiping the tear from my face as I came back to reality and away from my thoughts.

**Ranger's POV**

I felt Stephanie tense, and I knew she had drifted back. I didn't want to startle her, but I had to bring her back. Jane insisted that eventually the pain would lessen, but right now I knew most of her memories were painful and raw.

I held her to me as I wiped the tear making its way slowly down her pain-etched face. Damn, I wanted to kill Morelli just for putting that look on her beautiful face. Then I wanted to kick my own ass for ever sending her back to him. What had I been thinking? Yeah, I had thought he was a good cop, and he could give her what I couldn't; a house in the 'Burg and two point five kids. All the things I knew most women born in the 'Burg wanted were things I had assumed Stephanie would one day want.

"Ranger?"

Her soft voice pulled me back from my musing. It was the concern I saw in her eyes that caused my heart to jump. How had I ever thought I could live without this woman in my life?

I brushed my lips gently across hers. "It's okay, Babe. Just thinking."

She ran a finger across my brow. "Not happy thoughts."

"No, Babe, not happy thoughts."

We both stopped and turned when we heard the office door fly open and crash into the wall.

We could hear Lula yelling, and Tank trying to calm her.

Tank followed Lula into the room, and we all watched as she grabbed her bag and started digging through it. Tank tried to get her bag from her.

"Lula, honey, will you just listen to me?"

"I'm going to find him and blow his balls off."

"Honey, if you'll just listen to me..."

Lula dropped her bag and turned. We could all see the pain and anger on her face. She placed her hands on her hips. "I will not let that sorry excuse for a man get away with hurting my best friend."

Tears were flowing down her face, and she was trying valiantly to wipe them away and keep her composure, even though she was going into rhino mode... if she wasn't already there.

I released Stephanie, then she walked from me to Lula and wrapped her arms around the big woman.

I cast a look at Lester, Bobby, and Tank, and it helped that we all shared the same pained expression. We hated it when women were all emotional. I had worked for years to become the bad-ass I was. Shit, the government had trained me to be an assassin and a lethal weapon. Yet right now, my balls were heading north, and I felt helpless watching the women I cared about and loved offer comfort to each other.

What was it about women's tears that made a strong man feel weak and helpless?

"Carlos, why don't one of you bring us some water? Oh, and someone should call Ella and ask her to bring dinner down," Celia spoke up.

She looked at Stephanie for confirmation. Stephanie nodded as she continued to talk to Lula in a low whisper that I couldn't make out.

I turned and headed into the kitchen. I noticed that Tank was picking up the phone, no doubt calling Ella about dinner. When had we started taking orders from the women in our lives, especially without a second thought? I let out a silent sigh. Battle was so much easier than dealing with women.

I came out of the kitchen with my hands full of bottles of water, and stopped suddenly. Lula, Steph, Jane, and Celia were all seated on the couch, talking quietly, while Bobby, Lester, and Tank were leaning against the wall talking with each other.

_Time to merge the troops_, I thought. I handed each lady a bottle of water. Before I could say anything, the doorbell sounded. Talk about being saved by the bell!

**Chapter 14**

**Stephanie's POV**

Ella's wonderful dinner was eaten in silence, as we all thought of the conversation we would be having after. They all thought we had planning to do, but I knew otherwise.

One by one, we got up, scraped our plates into the sink, rinsed them, and put them into the dishwasher. As we finished, we went and sat in the living room; when everyone was there, I knew it was time to start.

"Okay, first…" I sighed and looked to Jane and Celia for support. "Tonight is not about planning. I know you all thought it was, but…" I fought to keep my emotions in check. "Dammit, tomorrow I'm going to face my parents. Tonight, I just felt the need for all of your support."

They all spoke at once. I held up a hand. "Can we just sit and watch a movie, please?"

Ranger pulled me into his embrace. "Babe."

We spent the night watching movies and making small talk. I fell asleep in Ranger's embrace; my last thought was that bvlgari and Ranger was the best scent ever.

**Ranger's POV**

At first, I wasn't sure how to react when Stephanie announced that tonight we wouldn't be doing any planning. What the fuck? Then I looked at Jane and Celia. That was all it took for me to pull Steph to me and settle us on the couch. If this was what Steph needed to get centered for the encounter with her parents, then I would provide it.

After two movies, I felt Steph relax and drift off into sleep. When I was sure she was out, I stood and carried her into our bedroom. Careful, so as not to wake her, I changed her into one of my shirts. I had long learned that they comforted her. Once I had her redressed, I tucked her in, then leaving the door open a crack, I returned to our guests.

Jane was the first to say something when I walked back into the room. "Ranger, it's very important that Stephanie have some say into what happens to Morelli. I'm not suggesting you let her plan it alone, but make sure that you consider her input."

After everyone was gone, I made my way to the bedroom. I sat on the chair next to Steph's side of the bed and watched her sleep. Watching her sleep had always helped calm me; it was strange how it helped me find my center. Steph would call it my zone. I know she would have found it funny that she was my zone... Her crazy mixed up life helped me find my calm and peace. Yeah, totally crazy, maybe, but the total truth was watching Stephanie face the hurdles life threw at her with such bravery and courage helped me go on some days.

I don't know how long I'd been sitting watching her when she spoke. "Ranger, come to bed. Please."

I stood, kissed her forehead, and headed into the bathroom. After taking care of business, I walked back into the bedroom and slipped into the bed. Stephanie immediately moved into what had become our sleeping position, with her back to my front, her head on my biceps, and my arm around her waist. Once she was settled, she let out a small sigh, and I knew she was once again out.

It was D-Day, or the day Stephanie was finally going to her parent's house. I walked into the apartment and stopped. I could hear Stephanie in the bedroom, cussing up a storm. I knew she was nervous about this visit; she hadn't talked to her parents since before she was kidnapped, and she thought that they didn't know she was back. Jane had convinced her it was okay to heal some before facing them, which I thought was a wise decision.

A week after Stephanie got back, I had a private talk with Jane. I had a daughter, and knew how I would feel if anyone was keeping knowledge of her from me; to put it simply, no one would ever find the body. I knew Frank was ex-Army, so I talked with Jane and let her know I planned on letting Frank know that his daughter was back. I also planned to tell him it was in her best interest not to make that fact public, although it would be once she showed up on her parents' doorstep.

Frank and I'd had a long talk, and he had agreed with me. In fact, he had surprised me when his only request was that he wanted to see Stephanie with his own eyes, so he could really see that she was back; not that he doubted me, he explained.

_Frank __stood, looking__ at the feed from the security camera in the __gym, and__ a smile came to his __face. I__ could see tears forming in his __eyes, which__ he bravely kept from falling._

"_My __baby__, she's __back, and__ she looks good."_

_I watched with Frank as Stephanie worked with Lester on some defensive moves. __Yeah, she__ looked __good. I__ felt my body __tighten, and swallowed. That was not__ the reaction I wanted to have with her father standing next to me._

_Frank spoke without looking at me. "You care for her? Before she was kidnapped…I saw you looking at her. Oh, I knew you didn't know I was watching. That look you were giving __her, that__ was love."_

_He had seen __me looking__ at Steph. __When? How, without__ my knowing it? Then I pulled it __together. Shit__, I knew how I looked at Stephanie when I didn't think others were __looking; like__ a man dying of thirst looks at a chilled bottle of cold water._

_I know I tensed some when his hand settled on my shoulder._

"_No __worry, son__, I know you love my daughter." He squeezed my shoulder just enough at the pressure point to get my attention. "Make sure you don't hurt her."_

_I __nodded, and__ his hand slipped from my shoulder. We stood there in silence, watching Steph. His words shocked me when he next __spoke, just__ before he turned and walked from the room._

"_I want to see the __file, and yes, I__ know you have one, before she comes home. I want to know everything that bastard did to my little __girl. I__ want to know why I'm killing him."_

"Ranger…Ranger…" I looked into Stephanie's worried eyes. "Ranger, where were you?"

I started to slip behind my blank face, and remembered what Jane and Celia had told me about keeping Stephanie informed. I took Steph's hand in mine, and led her to the couch.

"Babe, before we leave for your parents' house, we need to talk."

**Stephanie's POV**

I glanced from Ranger's face to his lips. For a fraction of a second, his blank face had made an appearance. I haven't seen a lot of that blank face since I got back. If anything, Ranger went out of his way to make sure I saw and understood his emotions and feelings. He has been answering questions, talking about himself, and doing his best to including me fully into his life. So hearing the dreaded 'we need to talk' just after seeing his blank face, even if it had only been present for mere seconds, had my stomach knotting up and me clenching my hands in nervousness.

Jane and Celia had been working with me, but I wasn't sure how much I could handle right now. What if what he wanted to tell me was bad? Maybe he had decided I was too much trouble.

"Babe, it's okay." Ranger was massaging my back and whispering into my ear. "Relax."

After several minutes, I leaned back. Looking deeply into Ranger's eyes, all I could see was love and concern. How could I even for a minute think this man would do anything to hurt me? With that realization, I did something I'd never done before. I put my arms around him and embraced him, then kissed his neck, nuzzling him. Wow, did he smell good.

"Babe," he said with his voice full of emotion.

"Okay, I'm ready." I didn't move from where I was leaning against his chest. His arms were warm and cocooning me to him. I felt safe here, and knew I could face anything.

"Babe, I wanted to let you know I've talked to your father. He knows you're back…"

I pulled away and looked up at Ranger, trying to decide if I felt betrayed, angry, or something else. He had talked to my dad without informing me. I felt tears start to form. My dad had always been there for me. When I fell of the roof, he had comforted me; he had even given me a Wonder Woman doll. He'd never told me I couldn't do something.

There had been times when just the thought of what my dad would say would change my mind about something I was going to do. I had enough respect for him that I had never wanted to do something that in my heart I knew he wouldn't approve of.

Taking a deep breath, I looked up at Ranger. In many ways, Ranger reminded me of Dad. Both were strong men, silent, caring, loving. Men to be respected and honored. Men I knew I could trust without a doubt.

If Ranger had spoken with my dad, I knew he had done it because it was what he thought was best for me. I slowly let myself relax back into Ranger's embrace.

"Okay, Ranger, I'm ready to listen."

I listened, and all the while, Ranger's hands were moving over me, comforting and soothing. When he finished, I felt better, knowing I had at least one person already on my side in the Plum house. I was still worried about how my mother would react.

**Chapter 15**

**Visit to the Plum House **

**Stephanie's POV**

I reached for Ranger's hand as we pulled up in front of my parent's house. I don't know how they did it, but the 'Burg radar must have been working. Both Mom and Grandma were waiting on the front porch. I swallowed nervously. Maybe Dad told them I was coming. I mean, how else could they have known?

Ranger squeezed my hand. "Babe, your Dad wouldn't have said anything. He knew you didn't want him to."

I did my best to raise an eyebrow. Before I could say anything, a car pulled up behind us, and Valerie and her troop piled out and headed for the door.

I frowned at Ranger. "You didn't…"

He pulled me across the console and onto his lap. Once I was cocooned in his arms and feeling safe, he spoke. "Babe, you know you can trust me. I swear I had no idea your sister would be here. I didn't…"

I put a finger to his lips. "I trust you." Looking out the tinted windows, I watched as everyone hugged and kissed, then they all walked into the house and closed the door. Hmm, maybe they hadn't been waiting for me after all.

"Babe, you don't have to go in if you're not ready."

I felt Ranger stiffen before I could answer. I followed his gaze to the rearview mirror, where I could see a Trenton squad car pulling up behind us. Shit, just what I didn't need.

We both watched as an officer I didn't know exited the car with his hand over his weapon and made his way to Ranger's window. Once at the vehicle, he tapped the glass and Ranger lowered the window.

"Yes, Officer, can I help you?"

"License and registration."

The officer kept a watchful eye on me as I crawled back to my seat, opened the glove box, and pulled out the folder I knew Ranger kept the registration in. It was the same in all RangeMan vehicles. Standard Operating Procedure.

I handed the registration to Ranger, who handed to the officer, along with his license.

Looking from the license to Ranger, the officer spoke. "Mr. Manoso, do you have business in the area? We received more than one call about a suspicious vehicle loitering in the area."

Obviously the officer had not linked me to the Plum's missing daughter.

Ranger nodded to my parent's house. "Just about to go visiting, officer."

At this, the officer stepped back and took a more defensive posture. "Sir, do you mind if I ask your business with the Plums?"

I watched as Ranger's face went from blank to 'I'm going to kill someone.' Damn, I'd seen grown men wet themselves went confronted with that face. Ranger didn't let anyone question his business.

The officer gulped and looked a little less sure of himself. "Sir, it's just that the fiancée of one of our officers was the Plum's kidnapped daughter, and we have all kind of taken it upon ourselves to look out for them…"

I could see the question in Ranger's eyes as he looked at me; I gave him a bare nod. At the moment, I just wanted to get this over with, and if telling Officer Nosy who I was would get him out of our business sooner, then I was okay with that.

Ranger interrupted the officer. "This," he gestured to me, "_is_ their missing daughter. We were just about to go inside."

After some muttered apologies for delaying our reunion, he walked back to his squad car and pulled away.

Ranger reached and squeezed my hand. "Ready, Babe?"

"Yeah, let's get this over with before I chicken out."

Ranger laughed and stepped from the car. He came around and opened my door. "Babe, you are many things, but a chicken is not one of them. You are one of the bravest people I know."

He pulled me into his embrace and brushed a kiss across my temple. Then he took my hand as we walked to the door, where he lifted a hand and knocked.

I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding when my father opened the door and pulled me into his embrace.

"Pumpkin, welcome home."

I felt tears form. Damn, it felt good to be home after all this time. Until this moment, I hadn't really realized how much I had missed my dad and his always silent support.

"Daddy." I held him tight, only letting go when I heard my mom's voice from the kitchen. She and Val were talking, then I heard the phone ring. I heard it crash to the floor a second before Mom appeared in the doorway.


	4. Chapter 4

**Warnings: Big ass Joe warning. If you care for Joe at all DO. NOT. READ. THIS. I can guarantee you won't like it.**

**That being said this is an adult fic and deals with adults therefore if you're not 18 you should back click now.**

**Illusions and Fantasies**

**By das**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Helen's POV**

I was so happy. For over a year, I had been trying to talk Valerie into coming for a visit. I was having trouble believing that she had finally consented. Of course, I hadn't shared the news with Frank. I had wanted him to be surprised, and he had quite the look on his face when I walked in with Valerie, her girls following behind her.

"Valerie, honey." I smiled at his stunned expression, pleased that I had managed to surprise him with their visit.

He hugged Val, then looked over her shoulder at me, clearly asking if I had known she was coming. I almost missed the frown that crossed his face before he turned and lifted not-so-little Lisa, while receiving hugs from Angie and Mary Alice.

"Girls, why don't you take your things up to the guest room? Dinner is almost ready, so after you unpack, clean up and come back downstairs. Val, do you want to freshen up, or would you like to help me in the kitchen?"

Valerie and I were in the kitchen gossiping and catching up, when I heard a knock at the door. Knowing Frank was in the living room, I let him deal with the door. After all, it would have been rude to leave Val after she had just arrived. When the phone rang, I answered it more on reflex than anything else.

I listened, then dropped the phone like it was red hot. Without saying anything, I walked to the door and pushed it open. I was shocked speechless. The caller had been correct. My daughter, Stephanie, was in the living room in Frank's arms, and standing a few feet behind her was the thug that had been responsible for her kidnapping.

I snapped. I rushed at him, seeing red. My fists flew, and my feet kicked. How dare he enter my house?

I felt arms lift me and hold me tightly. "Helen, get ahold of yourself. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

I kept struggling until I heard Valerie's voice. "Stephanie, is that really you?"

I felt myself sag. Suddenly, the fight just left me; I crumbled to the floor as Frank's arms let me go gently, guiding me down until I sat on the floor.

I felt tears on my cheeks. My baby was home.

**Frank's POV**

To say I was stunned when I watched Valerie and her brood follow my wife into the house was an understatement. I had been expecting Stephanie, not Valerie, and I knew I had to hide that from my wife. I had promised Ranger I wouldn't say anything. It was to be a surprise.

I actually laughed to myself, thinking of how surprised not only my wife would be when Stephanie showed up, but Valerie and Stephanie, as well. I knew from what Ranger had shared with me that Stephanie had planned to call Valerie after her visit.

You can imagine how shocked I was when Helen opened the kitchen door and launched herself at Ranger, attacking him with her feet and fists. Acting as fast as I could, I pulled her from him and held her until I felt the fight go out from her. Then I helped her to the floor.

Helen and I had been married a long time, and in all that time, I had never seen her react so violently. It just wasn't the 'Burg way.

"Mom."

I looked over at my baby. Shit, how I hated the uncertainty in her eyes. She was afraid her mother would reject her.

Helen shocked all of us with her next words. I can say I expected anything other than what she said.

"That nice Morelli boy was right." Helen turned a dark look to Ranger. "He said one day you would turn up with him." She looked as if something dreadful smelling had been waved under her nose.

She went on, all of us too shocked for the moment to speak. "He said you would return her after you and your men were done …well, doing vile things to her…ruining her for any decent man. But Joey said he'd still marry you…"

**Stephanie's POV**

I couldn't believe what I was hearing from my mother. When she mentioned Joe, it was all I could do not to run from the room and throw up. I closed my eyes and leaned into Ranger, inhaling his scent. I remembered what Jane and I had talked about. Finding my center, I opened my eyes.

I could do this. I would just stick with the story we had agreed upon.

"Mom." I know it came out louder than I had intended, but it worked. She shut her mouth and looked at me, as if she was seeing me for the first time.

I bit my lip, inhaled, and started talking. "I woke up in a hotel room. I didn't know where I was. I remembered living in Trenton. It took me some time, but I made my way to RangeMan…"

"But…"

I quickly cut her off. "Mom, I had amnesia. Still do, in a way. I've been working with a therapist. She thinks I remembered RangeMan because it was where I felt safe, that I remembered how Ranger and his men always looked after me…"

Before I could say more, the door burst open. Joe Morelli stood in the doorway. My chest felt tight, and I couldn't breathe. Then everything went dark.

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Ranger's POV**

Damn, I knew when the Plum's phone rang, the cop might show up. I'd known ahead of time it might happen, so I'd even instituted some safeguards. But I didn't _really_ think he would have the nerve to show his face here. I guess he was keeping up appearances. Thirty seconds after Morelli showed his face and Stephanie fainted, Lester and Bobby entered. I left them to deal with everyone.

I scooped Stephanie into my arms and carried her up to what I knew had once been her room. It took me no time to have her tucked in. I traced her face with my finger.

"Babe… Babe, time to open your eyes."

She moved to wrap herself around me where I was seated on the bed.

I could hear loud, angry voices shouting, although I couldn't make out words. I knew it was a clusterfuck downstairs. Part of me wanted to shield Stephanie from all of it, but smart Ranger spoke up and reminded me that Stephanie was a strong woman who could, and needed to, fight her own fights.

Stephanie sat up. I could tell in that first instant she had forgotten, then remembered, what had happened.

I could tell she was fighting to keep the fear out of her voice. "Joe is here." It came out more a statement than a question.

I rubbed her back and arms, offering her the comfort I knew she needed. "Babe, are you ready to go back down there?"

The only thing I wanted right now was to get her back to RangeMan, where I knew she would be safe. But I knew I couldn't keep her cocooned there in safety forever. Stephanie Plum was too independent to ever accept that kind of safety for long.

**Bobby's POV**

Damn, the cop was here, and the only thing Lester and I could do was make sure no one went upstairs, which were Ranger's orders as he carried Stephanie up. We had all known it was a possibility that Joe Morelli would show up, which was why Ranger had Lester and me follow them at a distance. He had called it extra eyes.

Damn fate. Some say we are the masters of our destiny, that we have free will. Others say destiny is preordained, and that no matter what we do, we can't change it. I, for one, believe destiny is what you make of it, and as far as I was concerned, the cop had just sealed his. The body would never be found.

Lester and I stood at the bottom of the Plum staircase and listened to Morelli and the rest of who I considered to be crazies. I felt for Stephanie, being related to these people. They needed to shut up and just listen to themselves.

"Joe, I'm so glad you're here. I was just insisting that…that man leave. I can't believe he had the nerve to step foot in my house!" Helen Plum huffed.

"I insist you step aside and let me up. That thug boss of yours has no right…" Joe Morelli tried to order.

"Stephanie is back... When did she get back? Why wasn't I told she would be here? You know what I went through because of her disappearance, and she just waltzes back in here…" Valerie whined.

It was enough to drive a sane man insane. I noticed the only quiet ones were Steph's dad and grandmother. Baby Lisa was crying, and the other two girls, Angie and Mary Alice, had their heads together, quietly talking.

**Joe's POV**

Well, hot damn. I walked inside just in time to hear Stephanie try to explain to her mother she had amnesia. There is a God, and he loves me. In the last twenty minutes, I had received no fewer than fifty calls letting me know Stephanie Plum was back in town and at her parents'. I had also been informed she was looking hot and was accompanied by no other than Ranger. Should have known he would be sniffing around when she got back into town.

The woman attracted men like a bitch in heat. Because she had amnesia, it looked like things would be easier for me. After all, I already had Mrs. Plum on my side. Now if I could just get past Manoso's thug. I could spirit Stephanie out of here and back to where she belonged, making me money.

Yeah, Mrs. Plum would expect me to marry her, but you don't marry whores. No, once I had Stephanie out of here, I would just come up with a story about how she had just disappeared, which is what she would do once I had her back on the drugs. I would kick that idiot Tommy's ass.

Thanks to Tommy and his big mouth, I not only had to get Stephanie back under control, I now had to worry about Manoso and Reynolds. Lucky for me, there was bad blood between them.

"Back off, Morelli. Ranger will be down with Stephanie when she's feeling better."

Helen took up for me, and I noticed Frank frown, as if he knew something. "You thug, you... I don't even know you! Get out of my house and stop interfering. Joe is Stephanie's fiancé, and it's only right he go up and look after her. Your boss isn't welcome in this house. It's all his fault Stephanie was taken in the first place. If she would have quit that awful job, none of this would have happened. She'd be married like a good 'Burg daughter, and I'd have some more grandbabies."

**Frank's POV**

Like hell I was going to let Helen stick up for Morelli, when I knew what he'd done to my daughter. The only reason I wasn't on him was I knew that Ranger and his men had something special planned for him. Besides, it was only fair we let my baby have first crack at revenge on the bastard.

My hand came down harder then I had planned on Morelli's shoulder. I gave a squeeze to really get his attention.

"Officer Morelli, I don't remember you being invited into my home. You are the one with no rights here. Leave, before I call and make a complaint."

"Frank, Joe is Stephanie's fiancé…"

I don't know what gets into Helen's head sometimes, but I was going to set her straight. "Helen, the last I heard, the officer here was engaged to a girl in D.C. That is right, isn't it Officer Morelli?"

I watched as Morelli tried to hide his anger; he really wasn't doing a very good job of hiding that famous Morelli temper. If I could egg him on to take a punch, I could press assault charges against him. Then we would know where he was, and my baby would be safe for a few days while the plans for revenge were finalized.

"Frank, I need to see…"

"Officer, I want you out of my house, NOW!"

I watched as Morelli ground his teeth. Before I could say anything else, my granddaughter came running down the stairs and threw herself into Morelli's arms.

"Mr. Joe, it's been forever. Did you miss me? Did you like my…"

It took all my military training to not attack the man on the spot. I didn't know what relationship he had with my granddaughter, but I was putting an end to it right now, before he hurt her like he had done my baby.

I pulled Angie from his arms. "Angie, honey, go back upstairs. NOW, Honey." I didn't want to raise my voice, but I didn't trust Morelli not to try to use her to get Stephanie out of the house, and that wasn't going to happen.

Angie had a hurt look in her eyes, but she listened and headed back up. Once she disappeared, I glared at Morelli and picked the up phone off the wall. If he thought I was bluffing about a complaint, he was dealing with the wrong man. I had Joe Juniak's number on speed dial. After all, we played cards once a week.

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Stephanie's POV**

Damn, just the sound of his voice and my heart was racing and I felt the cold chill of fear. But I wasn't going to let him have that kind of power over me. No, never again. I pulled back from where I was practically buried in Ranger.

"Babe?"

I knew what he was asking. "Let's go downstairs."

He looked at me for a minute and what he saw must have assured him that I was ready. He held my hand and helped me from the bed.

He kissed my temples just before opening the door. "Babe, I'm right next to you if you need me." Then he squeezed my hand. We came down the stairs hand in hand. At the bottom Ranger moved his hand to my shoulder. I knew what he was doing, he was staking his claim to me openly in front of Joe. Now normally this alpha male, testosterone bull shit would drive me nuts and I'd fly into full out rhino mode but today I appreciated his show of support.

I watched as a sneer and a frown crossed Joe's face before the black face fell.

"Cupcake, I heard you were back. I thought we could go to my place and talk." He leaned closed to me and my stomach lurched it was all I could do not to vomit on the spot. "The boys missed you." Then he winked at me. Gag me now.

Then I gave him an almost smile, If he only knew what I'd like to do to him and his boys. He would be the one about to up chuck.

"Honey, Officer Morelli was just about to leave."

I could feel all eyes on me as my Dad walked Joe to the door and closed and locked it behind him.

I sank into Ranger's embrace soaking in his strength and love. I could feel his arms around me, reassuring. Once the door was closed I let out the breath I was holding.

I turned from Ranger only once I heard my Dad's voice. I heard things in his voice I never had before anger, regret. At the same time I knew those emotions weren't aimed at me but Joe and fate. "Pumpkin, I'm sorry…"

I lifted my head and my tear filled eyes met his. "Daddy, you didn't do anything."

He shook his head. "Yeah Pumpkin I did. I didn't keep you safe. I failed you when you were six, instead of talking to his father and thinking that was enough I should have done more. Maybe if I had he would have thought twice before…"

His voice was strong, steadfast. He glared at Helen daring her to interrupt him. "he walked into the Tasty Pastry that night and seduced you." He glared at Helen. "I was so proud of you when I heard you'd hit him with the Buick. If I'd known about that before he shipped out believe me I would have done more than just break his fucking leg…"

"Frank, Joe is a nice boy. How could you talk about him this way. You know he's Stephanie's last chance for a good burg marriage…"

"Helen, Joe Morelli has been taking advantage of Stephanie since he was a boy. Knowing what I know now…I wouldn't let Morelli marry Stephanie if he was the last living man on earth. And if he ever touches her again, he won't be living.

Suddenly you could hear a pin drop. Quiet Frank Plum had never made his thoughts known in such a vocal way before, his family was stunned. Helen actually sat and missed the chair ending up on the carpeted floor. Valerie had a fish out of water expression on as she looked from one party to the next.

**Ranger's POV**

I'd heard enough and I knew that Stephanie didn't need to be subjected to any more stress.

"Babe, time to go." I met Frank's eyes. I knew he would call later to check on Stephanie.

So much for Steph's first trip home being easy, but then again when is anything ever easy when it comes to my Babe.

Suddenly Helen was on her feet and in my face. I clenched my hands as a rule I didn't believe in hitting women but I was seriously considering changing my stand on that when it came to Helen Plum.

She poked my chest with one of her bony fingers. "You will not leave this house with my daughter."

"Mom."

"Stephanie Michelle Plum, you just got home. Your best chance for a good burg wedding was just run out of this house. If you ever want dessert again you won't walk out that door with this thug."

Now I know that Stephanie's eating habits have changed since she came back but obviously Helen Plum didn't. Don't get me wrong she still loves sweets but their no longer the base of her food pyramid and in a way that made me sad. I hadn't thought about it when I told her I could never be the base of her food pyramid, until the week after she disappeared. Lula said how Steph had shared that talk with her, and that I was a dunce if I didn't realize that dessert was the base of Steph's food pyramid.

I had been looking for Steph herself, but Lula's words made me really look at my relationship with her. I realized that I wasn't just looking for a friend, who was missing, but my other half. I had to find her so I could tell her I loved her, without any silly qualifiers. I missed the Steph who had disappeared, but I would always love the stronger Steph who had fought to come back to me. Truly, it wouldn't have made a difference to me if she wanted to eat nothing but Tasty Kakes all day every day, as long as I had her back with me. But I was proud of the changes she had made to become whole and strong again.

I grinned at my Babe. If her mother didn't want to supply her with sweets Ella would be more than happy to, Steph had once asked if Ella would adopt her. What she didn't know was that Ella felt the same way Steph was the daughter she's never had.

I grabbed Helen's wrist probably a little harder than I needed to but I was careful that it wasn't hard enough to bruise I wouldn't put it past her to try and file an assault charge against me.

"Mrs. Plum, Stephanie is an adult if she wants to go with me no threat from you will stop her. And if you don't want to bake for her my housekeeper Ella will be more than happy to."

At that Steph and I walked out and slid into my truck. The trip back to Rangeman was quiet. I held Steph's hand the entire way. Okay, it was fair to say that by now the burg knew that Stephanie Plum was back. Joe Morelli certainly did, not it was time to move on with plans for revenge.

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Rangeman Conference Room**

**Stephanie's POV**

I walked into the conference room and stopped for a minute as my heart did a jump. Seated around the table were those who meant the most to me, and I knew in my heart truly cared for me. If anything happened to them, I'd never forgive myself. I jumped and was pulled from my thoughts when I felt a warm arm go around my waist.

"Babe, it's going to be okay."

I tried to smile up at Ranger. I really tried to believe everything was going to be okay, but I'd been held prisoner by Morelli and the men he was with. I knew how dangerous and ruthless they were.

"Babe, he's never going to hurt you again." The feel of Ranger's gentle breath against my ear reassured me. He was right. I was no longer the naïve little 'Burg girl Morelli had kidnapped. I was trained, and I was stronger than I'd ever been.

I sat in the chair Ranger pulled out next to his. We spent the next hour going over the plans until we had it all down. We had gone over every possibility, down to the smallest detail.

Ranger stood. "Okay, men, dismissed. Get some rest. We move out at 0100."

He took my hand and pulled me from the chair. Operation Tar and Feather Morelli would start in thirteen hours.

**Ranger's POV **

I knew the meeting had been hard on my Babe, but I was proud of how well she had done. Her recent training had shown, and I had found myself getting hard. The new and improved Stephanie turned me on, which was a good thing, since I planned on having her in my life for a long time to come.

I grinned at Steph's surprise when I pushed the button for the garage instead of the button for seven. Ella and I'd had a long talk. In my Porsche was a basket Ella had packed, with some of my Babe's favorites. I knew Steph's favorite place to relax was the beach, so I had made plans for us to spend the rest of the day at a friend's beach house; we would be back in plenty of time for the mission tonight.

I was surprised that Stephanie waited until we were on the road to say anything. I knew the suspense had to be bothering her.

"Uh, Ranger, where are we going?"

I took her hand in mine.

"Ranger!" I detected a little whine to her voice.

I decided to tell her. "Babe, you've been working hard. I know the meeting was stressful for you. I decided I needed to take care of my woman…"

"Your woman?"

"Babe, we're a couple. We cavemen like making sure our women are taken care of…" When she started interrupting, I held up a hand. "And I'm fully aware that my woman is able to take care of herself." I couldn't help the chuckle that came out as I continued. "She proved it to me when she took me down on the mats yesterday."

I couldn't help the grin that was plastered on my face. I had never been prouder than when I had ended up eating mat with my Babe on my back, restraining me. Once on my feet again, I had thrown her over my shoulder and taken her up to seven to show her how proud I was of her.

_I took__ the stairs two at a __time, with Steph bouncing on my shoulder._

"_Put me __down," she giggled. Then__ she pinched my ass._

_Mindful of the cameras, I picked up my speed. __Soon, I__ was kicking the door shut behind us and lowering __Stephanie to her feet. My__ lips found __hers as we__ fought for control._

_All the time our tongues were __dueling, my__ hands were moving. First to go was her shirt, then __mine, followed by her bra. Her__ breast were just the right size. I teased and plucked at her nipple until they were tight little peaks. My hands continued their journey south. I pulled moans, __groans, and__ ahs from my Babe._

_I paused, realizing I didn't want to take my Babe against the__ door. I lifted __her, and__ she wrapped those glorious legs around me as I carried her to our room._

I was interrupted from my thoughts when I heard her sigh.

"Ranger, I'm tired…"

I brought her hand up and kissed it. "Babe, trust me, please." I knew I was asking a lot of her, but I really was hoping that she had recovered enough to trust that I wouldn't hurt her.

She leaned over and kissed my cheek, then nipped my neck. "You know I trust you."

"Why don't you put your seat back? I'll let you know when we're there. And Babe, I promise you'll enjoy your surprise."

Forty-five minutes later, we pulled into the private drive. I parked to the side of the massive log house, and ran a light finger down Steph's cheek.

I whispered softly, so I wouldn't startle her. "Babe, we're here."

She stretched, and my pants suddenly got tighter. The things my Babe could do to me with a simple movement. Suddenly, her eyes were open, and she was looking at the house and the wide stretch of open beach in front of us.

Her arms wrapped around me, and she kissed me, just before she opened the door and ran for the water. "I love you! You really do know how to take care of me."

We spent the day playing in the water, making love, and eating Ella's delicious food. All too soon, it was time to head back to Trenton. On the drive back, Steph slept, and I went into my zone. I was already mentally preparing myself for the mission.

**Chapter Twenty**

**Revenge-The Mission**

**Ranger's POV**

After all the planning, the actual takedown was routine. Stephanie had laughed at the precision, rolling her eyes when we coordinated watches.

"_I thought people only did that in the movies."_

"_Babe," I said__ in a pained voice. "We all want to make sure we move at the same time."_

_She laughed as we loaded up to move out. Her laughter had released much of the tension I had been feeling about the mission._

We'd had Morelli under surveillance since he'd shown his face at the Plum house. It had been an easy thing to place a GPS on his vehicle and to bug his house. He still had his house in Trenton, but since Steph's abduction, he'd been spending most of his time at a townhouse in D.C. I'd sent men into both of his houses, just to be safe. We had complete audio and visual going; he wouldn't be able to take a shit without us knowing it.

His townhouse in D.C came complete with his soon to be bride. I wondered just how much she knew about Joe Morelli. Since she would be involved, I'd had Steph run a search on her. Sarah Jane Polanski, age twenty-five, was a kindergarten teacher. She had moved from Idaho a year ago, just after getting her teaching certificate. The school she taught at was not in one of D.C.'s better neighborhoods. Intel said she met Morelli when he responded to a shooting in front of the school.

My gut told me she was what she looked like. An innocent. But she was also another possible target of Morelli's. We would do what we could to make sure she wasn't injured during the takedown. We had all decided that overnight at the townhouse would be the safest place to attempt to take Morelli. Being that he was a cop, we knew he would be armed. So we were hoping to surprise him by going in quiet, while he was asleep.

I was proud of Steph for coming up with such an ingenious plan to take care of Morelli. Step one had been the surveillance. It had revealed where most of Morelli's dirty laundry was hidden. Morelli had his hands into almost every pot; drugs, sex, trafficking. Seems he had been using his undercover work to cover for his dirty deeds.

We had collected enough evidence to send Morelli away for ten lifetimes, but Morelli wasn't going to prison. No, we would be turning that evidence over to the proper authorities, but by the time they got it, Morelli would be long gone.

Step two was the actual apprehension. Once we had him on ice, we would go to work on step three: his punishment for all his bad deeds.

Once at Morelli's, we moved out with military precision. Hector disabled the security system, after taking care of Morelli's personal truck and his company car, just in case he got past us somehow. With Steph involved, we decided to err on the side of caution.

Two men were placed front and back, in case he decided to bolt.

I took point, with Steph behind me and Tank covering us both. Bobby and Lester took up positions near the front and back doors.

With Steph to the side, I cautiously opened the door to Morelli's bedroom. I wasn't surprised to see the man sitting up with a gun pointed toward the door. Like me, he probably was used to sleeping with an ear open to danger.

"What the hell are you doing in my house?" he growled in a low tone, obviously not wanting to wake his sleeping companion.

He made the mistake of lowering the gun when Stephanie stepped into the room.

"Cupcake, what the hell is going on?" He stepped from the bed. The first thing we noticed was that he was naked, and his cock was flying at half mast.

I could feel the tension radiating off of Stephanie, but she was doing a great job of masking her feelings. It was something she had been working hard on.

"Joe, we need to talk. Can you come downstairs?"

Joe looked from Steph to Sarah, pulled the covers up so she was covered, and nodded. We noticed that although he had lowered the gun, he hadn't put it away, and he still had it in his hand as he walked toward us.

"Sure, Cupcake. But you know that if you wanted to talk, you didn't need to have Rambo break into my place in the middle of the night to do it."

Stephanie's distraction skills always totally amazed me, but tonight, they simply blew me away. After what Morelli had done to Steph, he should have been more worried about our nighttime visit. But he was acting as if we'd dropped in for some coffee and casual conversation at one in the morning.

Once Joe walked past her, Steph tagged him with her stun gun. He never saw it coming.

Tank had looked down at him and grinned. "Never thought he was that dumb." Then he lifted him in a fireman's hold over his shoulder and carried him out to the waiting SUV.

**Joe's POV**

_Shit! Damn, what the hell?_ I had the worst headache of my life. Where the hell was I? I tried to think... what was the last thing I remembered?

Oh yeah, Stephanie walking into my bedroom, followed by that thug Ranger.

I tried to move my arms and legs, and realized that I was cuffed and shackled. Shit, this was not good. I knew Stephanie wouldn't have the guts to do this to me, so it had to be Ranger's doing. Damn, now I wish I'd taken him out months ago when I'd had the chance.

I heard a booming voice. "Hey, looks like sleeping beauty is awake."

Then I heard my Cupcake's voice. "Are we almost there?"

"Yeah, almost there, Babe. We'll be there in another ten minutes."

What the hell? Stephanie wasn't anyone's Babe. She was my Cupcake. How dare that thug call my woman Babe?

I knew I had an extra handcuff key on the chain I wore around my neck. Most people only noticed the cross, but I'd added the key right after I'd cuffed Steph in her shower. I'd always thought of the key as a keepsake of the event. Steph had really surprised me when she'd gotten free without calling me.I heard something jingle, and looked up.

A black face with a huge grin came into my field of view. "If you're looking for this," he said, his grin getting bigger, "I have it." The man I now recognized as Ranger's right-hand man, Tank, then dropped the chain into his shirt pocket. Damn, so much for using that key to get free.

The truck came to a stop, and I recognized the sound of jet engines. I had heard the rumors of Ranger dropping his enemies into third world countries, but come on, who could ever really get away with doing something like that. Plus, Stephanie had amnesia. There was no way she could know that I had any hand in her abduction and slavery.

I was pulled from the SUV and tossed to the ground. We were in a fairly large warehouse, and a small jet was on the far side, its engines running. He wouldn't dare, would he? I brought my eyes back to the men surrounding me.

"Manoso, what the hell do you think you're doing? Kidnapping a police officer is against the law."

I was surprised when Stephanie stepped forward. My jaw dropped. She looked hot in all black, and the heels she had on had to be five inches. They made it look as if her legs went on forever. She was also much more toned than she used to be. Damn, she looked good. I felt my cock respond. Here I was in chains, and my cock was hard enough to split wood.

"Hey, Joe. Thought you'd like to know I got my memory back."

I looked from her to Manoso. Shit, I think I liked his damn blank face better than the shit-eating grin he was wearing now.

"Cupcake, let me explain. It was the job…I didn't want to…"

A blood-curdling scream broke the air, and I realized it had come from me. Stephanie had planted one of her heels on my boys. I curled up as she ground her heel. Shit, I'd forgotten how vindictive she could be. I should have remembered the Buick and my broken leg and held the gun on her, instead of agreeing to go downstairs.

I looked up at Stephanie. "What the hell, Cupcake…"

"Don't you ever call me that again! In fact, don't call me anything, you disgusting pig. No, you're an insult to pigs."

**Ranger's POV**

I had watched Stephanie train, and had watched her take the guys down in the ring, but to watch her go after Morelli was a true treat. It was only after she finished that we loaded him onto the plane. He was unconscious, and the little devil that sat on my shoulder couldn't wait until he woke up so I could tell him what his final fate would be.

During one of my missions, I'd had an encounter with a Sheik. He guarded his harem with an iron fist, and was one of the meanest sons of bitches that I had ever met. I was dropping Morelli right in the middle of his harem. I was confident that if Morelli ever did make it back to the States, it would be as a changed man.

**Stephanie's POV**

When I had mentioned to Ranger that Joe should get a taste of his own medicine, I hadn't imagined that he would actually drop him in a foreign country. So I watched in fascination as an unconscious Morelli was loaded onto a plane. I tried to raise a brow when Bobby produced a syringe and injected him with something.

"Something to keep him sleeping, Steph, until we land. We don't need to have to deal with him trying something while we're in the air."

Okay, I guess that explained everything.

With Morelli subdued in the back, Ranger pulled me down into a seat next to him. "Sleep, Babe. It's a long flight. I'll wake you when we get there."

Suddenly, I felt exhausted. Then I grinned. I had a right to be tired; it was before the butt crack of dawn, and I'd kicked the shit out of Morelli. And as I had learned, beating someone up was tiring.

I'm pretty sure I heard a few giggles just before I drifted off.

**Bobby's POV**

I let out a sigh of relief as I watched Stephanie drift off in Ranger's arms. I had been afraid that the encounter with Morelli would bring back some of the trauma she had suffered. I had brought a sedative for her, but it didn't look like I would need it. Ranger was right. She was stronger than any of us had at first believed. Ranger was lucky... she was one amazing woman.

Morelli woke as our wheels touched down. I gave him credit... he hadn't pissed himself yet. He opened his eyes and looked around. "Where the hell am I, and why do I feel like I've been drugged?" He let out a big groan as he tried to move.

"Your new home," Tank said as he lifted Morelli onto his shoulder. Tank carried him from the plane and dropped him into the back of the waiting jeep.

Morelli was looking around, and I knew he was taking it all in; the clear blue sky without a cloud in sight, the unbearable hot wind licking at the skin, the sand blowing and getting into every crevice. I watched as his eyes widened.

As he started to scream, Ranger decked him, and he slumped, unconscious.

"You know he could get a concussion from a blow like that," I said with some humor in my voice.

"Least of his problems in a few," Ranger replied. Then he looked at Stephanie. "Babe, I need you to stay here with Lester."

I really expected her to argue with Ranger, but she only nodded and held up a book she'd brought with her.

When we got to our destination, Ranger waved an ammonia capsule under Morelli's made short work of letting Morelli know where he was. If I had been Morelli, I would have been pissing myself.

"You can't just leave me here. I'll be killed."

Ranger dropped a knife to the ground, just feet from where Morelli lay in a ball, still hurting from the abuse Steph had heaped on him.

"Your choice, Morelli. But I should let you know, the last man the Sheik found with his harem lived for forty-one days."

**Ranger's POV**

Morelli pulled himself up to a sitting position. He sneered at me. "Maybe I'm better than that man."

Now it was my turn to grin. "Morelli, that man prayed all that time to be allowed to die. You can use the knife in a couple of ways kill yourself if you're not too much of a coward. Or if you want to live, castrate yourself before the Sheik returns."

Morelli turned pale at my words. I could tell he was fighting the urge to vomit.

"You can't just leave me here, Manoso. I'm a decorated police officer…" Morelli growled.

"Morelli, you were dirty. For your family's sake, I won't turn over what I have, but if you ever contact Stephanie or me, all bets are off. Have a good life; it's better than you offered some of those poor girls you sold." With that, I turned and walked away, hoping to never set eyes on Joe Morelli again.

I took Stephanie in my arms, and helped her into the helicopter that would get us to the airstrip where we would catch our ride back to the States.

Her bright blue eyes met mine as we left the ground. "We did it. It's over."

I lowered my lips to hers and prayed that it was. After all, we had left Morelli alive. I would have felt better if he'd been dead, but I knew Stephanie's moral code wouldn't go far enough left to accept cold-blooded murder, even if he did deserve it.

**Chapter Twenty-One**

**That's a Wrap Folks!**

**Ranger's POV**

The plane gave a little jerk as the wheel hit the asphalt, and I could feel the flaps being fully deployed to slow us down. Looking down, I couldn't stop the smile that came. Steph had fallen asleep hours ago, and I held her cradled in my arms. I knew I needed to wake her, but I really hated to; the last few hours had been rough on her. Once we wrapped up everything in Trenton, I planned on taking her on a long, much-needed vacation.

"Babe. Babe…"

She let out a low moan, followed by a groan. My pants tightened. Fuck, the things this woman did to me without even trying.

I left a trail of kisses down her neck, and then nipped at her sweet lips.

"Babe, we're home. The plane landed, and they'll be opening the door in a minute."

That had her moving. She sat up and looked around. "We landed?" Her voice had that raspy, just woken up quality that was so sexy.

She had slept for the last six hours, but she still looked tired. I couldn't wait to wrap everything up and get Steph away to somewhere calm and tranquil. A week. Yeah, at the most, it should take a week to get everything squared away.

**Stephanie's POV**

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I looked around as I stretched. Most of the guys had already left the plane, and Tank was just about to. He turned, looked at me, and grinned.

"Bombshell, I just knew the first time I saw you that you would fit in once you learned how to have fun."

I looked up at an amused Ranger. "You guys have a strange idea of fun."

Ranger kissed the tip of my nose. "Babe, you had fun."

Ranger was right. It had been fun to kick the hell out of Joe. Suddenly, good Stephanie popped up on my shoulder. What will your mother say? Forget my mother; what would the 'Burg say if they ever found out?

Then I grinned, just before my arms went around Ranger. They would never find out. Besides, I wasn't about to let my mother or the 'Burg control my life anymore.

"Proud of you, Babe." Ranger gave me a long kiss. When we separated, I could hear the guys.

"Come on, I want to get home."

"If you aren't getting off the plane, you should at least move to the bedroom."

"Hell no. I like the show."

"Babe, we'll finish this at the apartment."

On the ride back to Trenton, I listened as Ranger and the guys went over business; takedowns, installations, client meetings. Just before I fell asleep, it dawned on me that Ranger seemed to be clearing his schedule. He hadn't said anything to me about a mission or having to visit one of the other offices, and I made a mental note to ask him about what was going on once we were alone on seven. In my state of exhaustion, I wished that maybe he was clearing off his schedule to take me on a real vacation, but I realized Batman doesn't do vacations.

**One Year Later**

**Stephanie's POV**

I had one hand resting on my swollen belly and the other holding Ranger's hand. We were both in a lounge on the beach. Today was what would become the annual RangeMan beach barbeque. So much had happened in the last year.

"Aunt Steph, Uncle Carlos, can Julie and I go with Bobby and Lester, please?" Angie whined.

One of the changes was that Carlos and I had become engaged. After a very short engagement, we'd married in a private ceremony in Hawaii. I smiled, remembering how I'd thought Batman didn't take vacations. Two weeks after returning from places best not mentioned, Carlos had whisked me off on a much-needed vacation. We came back six weeks later married.

Ranger had talked to Rachel, and Julie visited often. I'd had a long talk with my sister, and she and Kloughn had started marriage counseling. While they were seeing their therapist, I made sure that her girls, especially Angie, had someone to talk to.

With Julie visiting often, and my relationship with my sister improved, Angie and Julie had become close friends. My mother finally accepted Ranger as part of the family when I announced that we were expecting. My dad had smiled and requested we give him a grandson.

We haven't said anything yet, but if we believe the sonogram, dad's wish is more than coming true. I'm carrying twins, and it looks like they're both boys.

I had been surprised at how little fallout there had been over Joe's disappearance. Then I found out that officially he had been undercover; his superiors had informed his mother that he was MIA. After seven years, he would be declared dead.

Angie Morelli had crossed herself when Sarah showed up one day with papers proving that she had been married to Joe and was entitled to his estate and pension. Sarah had made it clear she wanted nothing to do with the Morelli family or the 'Burg. She signed the papers to list the house and to collect Joe's pension, and then went back to D.C.

"Aunt Steph, you're not listening."

Ranger squeezed my hand. "Babe, it's okay."

"Sure, girls. Run along. If your mothers ask, I'll let them know where you are."

They ran off the join the guys, whooping and cheering.

I looked out across the beach. Some of the guys were playing volleyball, others were tossing a Frisbee. Tank was manning one of the many grills we had set up. My dad was next to him, and they seemed to be deep in conversation.

**Tank's POV**

"So you and Ranger have completed your last government mission. Have you shared the news with the ladies yet?" Frank asked.

I grinned. Frank had a way of getting to the meat of a situation; must be his own military training. I pulled out the ring box I'd been carrying for three weeks now and showed it to him.

His laugh was a low rumble. "Uh, I know you don't have much experience. But you're supposed to give it to the girl, not keep it in your pocket."

I did a fairly good imitation of Stephanie rolling her eyes. "Don't you think I want to ask her? Every time I try, something happens. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad Steph and Lula are good friends, but ever since Steph announced her pregnancy, it's like they're connected at the hip."

"Stephanie did mention something to me about Lula not being able to carry a pregnancy."

I nodded. It was one of the things we had discussed when we first started dating. I knew Lula regretted not being able to give me kids, but as I'd told her, I had never thought I'd have a family anyway, so it really didn't matter to me. I figured if she really wanted kids, we could always adopt. There were lots of kids out there that needed a good, loving home.

"Yeah, she figures this is as close to pregnant as she'll ever be. Plus, with some of the problems Steph has had, it's made things easier on Steph to have Lula around."

Frank nodded. "I hear Reynolds has gone missing?"

My blank face slid into place. Damn, he had good contacts if he'd heard about Reynolds. Then again, this was Steph's dad and Ranger's father-in-law. I should have known he'd hear. I decided to fish and see if he'd spill anything.

"Really? What did you hear?"

Frank chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "Pierre, I heard enough to know my baby girl and granddaughter are safe. At least for now." Before he could say anything else, we were interrupted by Helen Plum.

"Frank, are those burgers ready yet? The potato salad is getting warm."

**Helen's POV**

I know that Frank and Stephanie don't think I know what had happened to my daughter while she was missing, but Angie has shared enough with me that I have an idea, if not the actual facts.

It had been hard for me to come to accept what Angie had shared with me; that a nice boy like Joe Morelli could fill an innocent girl's head with the kinds of thoughts he had shared with Angie. Making the girl believe that he loved her and would someday whisk her off…she was just glad he never had.

Angie Morelli had even come to her crying when she found out that Joe was missing. She had cried more when a girl showed up with papers proving she was Joe's wife. Oh, at first she had been overjoyed, thinking maybe the girl might be carrying her future grandchild.

Then the girl had made it clear she was in town to settle Joe's estate, but she had no interest in mourning Joe with his family, or becoming involved in 'Burg gossip.

Of course, that was all before I found out that her sweet Joey was planning on taking off with my innocent granddaughter.

Valerie and Lula had been helping me set things up on the table. I noticed Frank at the grill with Tank. _What kind of name is Tank, anyway?_ Oh well, time to eat.

"Frank, are those burgers ready yet? The potato salad is getting warm."

**Ranger's POV**

I squeezed Steph's hand. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was remembering the past year and all the changes it had brought to us, and probably hadn't heard Angie's question. "Babe, it's okay."

"Sure, girls. Run along. If your mothers ask, I'll let them know where you are," Steph said to the girls. Her answer told me that although she had been in the past, she had still been aware of her surroundings, something she had been working hard on.

I moved our joined hands to Steph's belly. Sometimes I had a difficult time believing it. I was going to be a father again, and this time around, I planned on doing it right.

This day had been Steph's idea. She said that at least once a year, RangeMan should take a day to relax and remember why we did what we did. Looking out at the beach, I could see that she had been right.

"Carlos, Julie asked if she could be in the delivery room."

"Babe, don't you think she's too young?"

Steph's sweet laugh was music to my ears. "You do know that she has been hoping Mark would ask her out?"

I looked out at my men playing beach volleyball. Mark was one of RangeMan's newest hires. He was younger than most of the men I hired. He had been injured on his first mission with the Rangers. The only reason I had hired him was that he was the son of one of my first investors. He was currently under probation; if he asked Julie out, I decided that he would be six feet under.

"Ricardo Carlos Manoso, you will not scare off Julie's first date."

"Babe, every** man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another***."

Before I could say more, we were interrupted by Helen Plum. "Frank, are those burgers ready yet? The potato salad is getting warm." She turned to where Steph and I were sitting. "Carlos, maybe you could, uh, collect the men. I think we're ready to eat."

Frank turned my way and grinned. "Carlos, **when you have a child, the world has a hostage*. **Justremember,life** is like an ice-cream cone. You have to lick it one day at a time**."**

I looked from where Julie sat on the beach to Mark. I didn't have to like it, but deep down, I knew that if Mark was who Julie wanted, at least he was a good man and he would never hurt her.

Then I looked at Stephanie, and realized that not only was I lucky to have Julie, I was incredibly lucky to have Stephanie back in my life for good. She and our unborn child, along with Julie, have given my life new meaning. There were no more illusions of a fulfilled life.

*Babesquad challenge **Perfectly Plum Challenge

**The End**


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